Aid groups appeal for Syria funds as donors meet in Brussels

Smoke billows as U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fire on Islamic State militant positions in Baghouz, Syria, Monday, March 11, 2019. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

FILE - This undated file photo released by a militant group in 2016, shows Abu Mohammed al-Golani of the militant Levant Liberation Committee and the leader of Syria's al-Qaida affiliate, second right, discussing battlefield details with field commanders over a map, in Aleppo, Syria. Waves of violence in northwestern Syria has killed scores of people since mid January 2019 and displaced tens of thousands raising concerns that a truce reached in Sept. 2018 between Turkey and Russia is in danger. (Militant UGC via AP, File)

BRUSSELS – Aid organizations are appealing for funds to help Syria recover from an eight-year war that has driven more than 6 million people from the country and displaced many more inside Syria.

Donors from around 85 countries are gathering in Brussels for a pledging conference.

NGOs and think-tanks insist that the conflict, which has killed more than 400,000 people and sparked a refugee exodus that destabilized Syria's neighbors and hit Europe, is far from over.

Oxfam Syria Director Moutaz Adham said Tuesday that funds are "needed for essential services like water, education and health-care," and that without it "Syrians will continue to suffer for many more years to come."

Around 80 percent of people inside Syria live in extreme poverty. Refugees are reluctant to return, fearing violence, conscription or prison.

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