EU to host Syria aid conference in April

BRUSSELS

The European Union announced Tuesday that it will host an aid conference on April 5 to address the impact of the crisis in war-battered Syria.

The conference will bring together ministerial representatives from 70 delegations, including from the EU and the region but also the wider international community, the United Nations, major donors and civil society, humanitarian and development organisations, according to a statement.

"The conference will assess where the international community stands collectively in fulfilling commitments made at the London Conference in February 2016 and agree on additional efforts needed to meet the needs of those affected by the crisis,” it said.

It will "reconfirm the international community's commitment to continuing to deliver assistance to Syrians in need, as well as their host communities, and assess the conditions under which post-agreement assistance could be provided once a credible political transition is underway,” it added.

The Brussels Conference will be co-chaired by the European Union, Germany, Kuwait, Norway, Qatar, the United Kingdom and the United Nations.

Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests -- which erupted as part of the Arab Spring uprisings -- with unexpected ferocity. Since then, more than a quarter-million people have been killed and more than 10 million displaced across the war-battered country, according to the UN.

The Syrian Center for Policy Research, however, put the death toll from the six-year conflict at more than 470,000 people.