Obama authorizes extra $155 million in Syria aid

PanARMENIAN.Net - President Barack Obama authorized an additional $155 million in humanitarian aid for the Syrian people Tuesday, January 29 as his administration grapples for a way to stem the violence there without direct U.S. military involvement, AP said.

Obama announced the additional funding Tuesday in a video aimed at the Syrian people.

The fresh funding brings the total U.S. humanitarian aid to Syria over two years to $365 million, according to the White House. Officials said the money was being used to immunize one million Syrian children, purchase winter supplies for a half million people, and to help alleviate food shortages.

The United Nations says more than 60,000 people have been killed since March 2011, when the clashes between the Syrian government and rebel forces started. The violence has also forced millions of people from their homes, destroyed the country's cities and created food and fuel shortages.

The U.S. has long called for Syrian President Bashar Assad to leave power and said the fall of his regime is inevitable. In addition to the humanitarian aid, the White House has also ratcheted up economic sanctions on Assad's regime and recognized the rebel-led Syrian Opposition Council as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people.

In his video released Tuesday, Obama said he was "under no illusions" about the situation in Syria, but continues to believe that Assad's regime will come to an end.