June 6, 2014 2:27 PM

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WB Chief urges donors to step up aid to Jordan, Lebanon

World Bank President Jim Yong Kim has urged the donor countries to increase their support for Jordan and Lebanon to cope up with the increases in the number of Syrian refugees. At a press conference in Amman, he said the response has been disappointing so far. He called upon donor countries and all who care about peace and stability in this region to step up aid to Jordan and Lebanon.The World Bank Chief met Jordan's King Abdullah II and Prime Minister Abdullah Nsur in Amman. He visited the Zaatari refugee camp, home to around one lakh Syrians. Lebanon is home to more than a million refugees, while around six lakh have fled to Jordan, and Turkey hosts another seven lakh.Earlier in Jeddah, he told that the conflict in Syria has cost Lebanon 7.5 billion dollars. The United Nations had appealed in December for around 6.5 billion dollars for victims of Syria's war, and 2.3 billion dollars was pledged at a Kuwait donors' conference in January. However, only 25 percent of the fund has been released by the donor countries. Syria's conflict has generated the worst refugee crisis since the Rwandan crisis in the mid-1990s. According to estimates almost half the population has fled their homes, including nearly three million refugees who have taken shelter in the neighboring countries.

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