World leaders from Western and Arab nations pledged $2.4 billion dollars to relieve the suffering of Syrian civilians on Wednesday, January 15, as Ban Ki-Moon, United Nations Secretary General outlined the desperate need for aid.
"Half the total Syrian population, nearly 9.3 million individuals, urgently need humanitarian aid," Mr. Ban said at the Second International Humanitarian Pledging Conference on Syria. "Nearly half of them are children."
"The attacks on civilians and homes are unrelenting," Mr. Ban said. "I am especially concerned that the sides are using violence against women and girls to degrade and dehumanize their opponents."