Washington increases humanitarian support

WASHINGTON / CAIRO

Syrian refugees are seen at the Za’atri refugee camp in the Jordanian city of Mafraq. The Obama administration increases humanitarian aid to Syrians.

The United States unveiled $21 million in new aid help those caught up in the conflict in Syria, boosting its humanitarian funding to over $100 million.

USAID head Rajiv Shah announced during a visit to Jordan that the new funds would be made available to the U.N. World Food Program to help feed Syrians both inside and outside the country.

“With this new assistance, the United States is providing a total of more than $100 million for humanitarian activities both inside Syria and in neighboring countries,” the State Department said in a statement.Meanwhile, Egypt’s president gave his first major foreign policy speech yesterday, telling the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down before it is too late.

“It’s too late to talk about reform, this is the time for change. The Syrian regime must learn from recent history,” Morsi said during an Arab foreign ministers’ meeting in Cairo.

“Everyone must realize that the Syrian people have made their decision and that decision must be implemented through change,” said Morsi.