Kuwait to Host Syria Donors Meeting in January

Kuwait said on Monday it will host in January a second donor's conference to raise aid for Syrian refugees at the request of the U.N. secretary general.

"Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al-Sabah is happy to host the conference in January due to the dramatic situation facing the brotherly Syrian people, to ease their sufferings and ensure humanitarian aid to Syrian refugees," said the government.

The statement was carried by the official KUNA news agency, which did not provide an exact date for the conference.

Earlier this month KUNA said U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon had asked Kuwait to hold a second donors conference to raise aid for Syrian refugees after it hosted one in January this year.

At that time participating nations pledged $1.5 billion (1.1 billion euros) for Syrian refugees.

In June the U.N. launched a record $5.2-billion aid appeal to fund operations in Syria and neighboring countries, warning the number of Syrians needing help because of the conflict could rise to more than 10 million by the end of 2013.

The aid is for food, which accounts for one-fifth of the sum, clean water, medical care and schooling, as well as to build refugee camps.

The U.N. appeal aims to raise $3.8 billion for refugees and $1.4 billion for operations in Syria.

More than 115,000 people have been killed and over 2.1 million forced to flee to neighboring countries -- Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt -- since the conflict erupted after a crackdown on protests that began in March 2011 against President Bashar Assad.

The United Nations says the total number of refugees is expected to swell to 3.5 million by the end of the year, while close to seven million people are forecast to need aid inside Syria this year.