International donors pledge $1.5bn in Syrian aid

International donors on Wednesday pledged more than the targeted $1.5 billion in aid for stricken Syrians, UN chief Ban Ki-moon said, warning of a “catastrophic” situation in the war-torn country.“I am pleased to announce that pledges have exceeded the target... more than $1.5 billion have been pledged including the $184 million pledged by non-governmental organisations,” Ban told a news conference in Kuwait. The exact amount of the pledges are being calculated,” said the secretary general. “This is the largest response ever to a humanitarian pledging conference.”Addressing the International Humanitarian Pledging Conference for Syria in Kuwait City, Ban had called for urgent financial aid, warning that if funds were not forthcoming “more Syrians will die.”“The situation in Syria is catastrophic,” he said as he urged all parties to the conflict to “stop the killings.”Ban said that based on UN reports half of Syria’s hospitals and a quarter of its schools had been destroyed, and other vital infrastructure had been badly affected. He stressed that humanitarian assistance alone would not resolve the crisis, which he said required a political solution.Host Kuwait was first to make a pledge, offering $300 million, followed by similar promises from other oil-rich Gulf states - Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.“Due to the great sufferings of the Syrian people and to help ensure the success of the conference, I announce the Kuwaiti donation of $300 million for the Syrian people,” Kuwait Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah said as he opened the one-day gathering. Sheikh Sabah said that “horrifying reports” from Syria are a “cause for concern over the security of Syria, its future... and over the security and future of the region.”Bahrain said it would offer $20 million while the German foreign ministry in a statement pledged around 10 million euros ($13.5 million).UN humanitarian aid chief Valerie Amos said that three million Syrians have fled their homes and at least 2.3 million need basic help. She said that $519 million of the funds to be raised are needed to assist those most affected by the conflict.King Abdullah II of Jordan and Lebanese President Michel Sleiman both called at the conference for more aid to cope with increasing numbers of Syrian refugees in their respective countries. Syria’s opposition chief laid down conditions on Wednesday for talks with President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, as world outrage at a massacre piled pressure on all parties to halt their 22-month conflict.And amid concerns that Syria’s stockpile of chemical weapons could fall into the hands of Lebanon’s militia Hezbollah, Israeli forces carried out an air strike on a convoy near the Syria-Lebanese border, security sources told AFP.Khatib said via his Facebook page he is ready for dialogue with officials of Assad’s regime subject to conditions, including that “160,000 detainees” are released and that passports for exiled citizens be renewed in embassies abroad.Until now, Syria’s main opposition groups have said they are only prepared to enter into dialogue on ways to end the 22-month conflict if Assad steps down.Israeli forces on Wednesday carried out an air strike overnight on a weapons convoy from Syria near the Lebanese border, security sources told AFP on Wednesday, speaking on condition of anonymity.The attack came after Israel expressed concerns that Damascus’s stockpile of chemical weapons could fall into the hands of Lebanon’s Hezbollah group, an ally of the Syrian regime, or other militant organisations.Israeli officials have said such that a transfer would be a casus belli and likely spark an Israeli attack. Sources differed on whether the strike took place on Syrian or Lebanese territory.“The Israeli air force blew up a convoy that had just crossed the border from Syria into Lebanon,” one source said, adding that the convoy was believed to be carrying weapons, without specifying the type.An Israeli military spokeswoman declined to comment on the report. A second security source, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, also confirmed to AFP that Israeli warplanes had hit a convoy allegedly carrying weapons to Lebanon but said the incident occurred just inside Syria.