Britain has vowed to double its aid to £50 million to help deal with the humanitarian disaster caused by the crisis in Syria. The UN Secretary General has talked of the "unrelenting horrors" in the country.
The £71 million promised this week, combined with £68.5 million in existing funding, means the UK is now providing £139.5 million. The International Development Secretary urged other donors to follow:
I saw for myself the human cost of this conflict and the massive effort by NGOs to deal with huge numbers of refugees.
Warm words alone won’t help those without food, medicine or shelter. The UK has more than doubled its funding in the last five days as the level of need spirals - but international donors must now dig deep in Kuwait with the funding needed to save lives and assist neighbouring countries which are having to cope with huge numbers of refugees
– Justine Greening, International Development Secretary
The UN's Syria appeal is its biggest ever short-term appeal. It says it needs $1.5 billion to help people displaced by the conflict.
Ban Ki-moon talks of 'unrelenting horrors' in aid appeal
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, at a conference of donors in Kuwait Credit: Reuters
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon reiterated his condemnation of the ongoing violence in Syria, as he appealed for more aid to address the situation, which he said was "catastrophic, and worsening by the day."
Speaking at a donor conference in Kuwait he said:
"How many more people will be killed if the current situation continues? The situation in Syria is catastrophic and getting worse every day. Every day Syrians face unrelenting horrors."
"I appeal to all sides and particularly the Syrian government, to stop the killing ... in the name of humanity, stop the killing, stop the violence."
UN-Arab League mediator Lakhdar Brahimi told the UN Security Council that the Syrian President may be able to cling to power for now but that the country is, "breaking up before everyone's eyes," diplomats have told Reuters.
Speaking behind closed doors Brahimi reportedly told the 15-nation strong council that, "the Syrian regime's legitimacy has been seriously, probably irreparably damaged."
A Free Syrian Army fighter stands in front of a building destroyed by a Syrian Air force air strike in Damascus Credit: Reuters
This comes as families begin to identify the bodies of at least 65 men and boys who were reportedly found dead near Aleppo.
The men were apparently shot in the head with their hands bound.
A woman is seen crying as relatives attempt to identify bodies found dead with their hands bound in Aleppo Credit: Reuters
Syria opposition video 'shows dozens of male bodies'
Opposition activists have posted a video purporting to show at least 51 muddied male bodies alongside a river bank in the rebel-held Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood of Aleppo.
The video, which is too graphic to post, follows a man walking along a river bank past dozens of male bodies with their hands tied and blood coming from their heads.
An image captured from the video showing the river bank that is littered with bodies
Aleppo in north-western Syria has been the focus of frequent bouts of fighting Credit: Google Maps
A video posted on the internet by opposition activists shows bodies lined alongside what they said was the Queiq River in the rebel-held Bustan al-Qasr neighborhood of Aleppo.
The Queiq River rises in Turkey and travels through government-held districts of Aleppo before it reaches Bustan al-Qasr.
The Queiq River, surrounded by green, passes to the right of the Bustan al-Qasr neighborhood in Aleppo, Syria Credit: Google Maps
Syrian pro-opposition group: 65 people found bound and shot dead
At least 65 people apparently shot in the head were found dead with their hands bound in an area of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, a pro-opposition monitoring group said.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the death toll could rise as high as 80 in what it called a "new massacre".
