US faces tough challenges to deliver aid in Syria.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- As the Syrian crisis rages and debate heats up over Syria's chemical weapons, U.S. officials are fighting a quieter battle: The delivery of nearly $1.3 billion in assistance in a war zone so chaotic that ambulances are used for target practice and aid is halted by armed men at random checkpoints.
The humanitarian needs in Syria are staggering. An estimated 6.8 million Syrians require assistance - a number equal to the population of Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and Connecticut combined. Of that number, about 2 million have fled to neighboring countries. Even more - somewhere between 4 and 5 million - are displaced from their homes inside Syria.
The U.N. says more than 100,000 people have died in the two years that opposition forces have fought to topple President Bashar Assad, who is accused of launching a chemical weapons attack last month that killed more than 1,400 people. While Assad has denied orchestrating the attack, he has agreed to a U.S.-Russia plan to give up his chemical arms.
That plan will dominate talk about Syria at this week's U.N. General Assembly, where there also will be renewed pleas to deliver more international aid - a job as daunting as the overwhelming need.
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Physically delivering aid to the refugee camps would at least help - tents , food , medical aid etc. That's as opposed to joke non tangible aid as supplied to Haiti for example.