Asia

Asia

EU increases humanitarian assistance for Iraq

22 October 2014 17:30 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. The European Commission (EC) said on Wednesday it is increasing humanitarian assistance for the Iraq crisis by an additional 3 million euros (about 3.81 million U.S. dollars) as winter approaches and the number of refugees rises, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

"Faced with so much instability and violence, many families in Iraq have had to flee their homes in search of safety and basic services," said Kristalina Georgieva, the European Commissioner responsible for international cooperation, humanitarian aid and crisis response.

"I am deeply concerned by the plight of these families, particularly with the onset of winter. We will not let them suffer in silence; we must and will do more to help," she added.

The humanitarian situation in Iraq has been deteriorating rapidly in the last months as armed conflict escalates.

Since 2007, the EC's total humanitarian support for Iraq, including support for Syrian refugees in the country, amounts to almost 150 million euros. (1 euro = about 1.27 U.S. dollars)