China to give $4.7mln in humanitarian aid for Syrian refugees

PanARMENIAN.Net - China will give 30 million yuan ($4.7 million) in humanitarian aid for Syrian refugees in Jordan and Lebanon, the official Xinhua news agency said on Thursday, Aug 23, according to AFP.

The aid will go to refugees in Jordan and Lebanon to "show Chinese people's friendly sentiments toward Syrian people", Xinhua reported, citing the foreign ministry.

More than 265,000 Syrians have fled their country's raging conflict since March last year and 1.2 million are internally displaced, the United Nations estimates.

China and Russia have locked horns repeatedly with their fellow UN Security Council members on how to handle the Syria conflict, now in its 17th month with little sign of easing.

The two have rejected efforts by their Western counterparts to pressure Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down, and instead accused them of prolonging the conflict by backing the opposition forces.

China has urged the Syrian government and opposition to engage in dialogue and has repeatedly stressed its policy of non-interference in other countries' affairs.

About 17,000 Syrians have died since the conflict erupted, the UN estimates, including 37 in the capital of Damascus on Wednesday as regime forces battled rebel fighters.

China donated $2 million in aid to Syrians in March through the International Committee of the Red Cross, Xinhua said.