UN: 7 million Syrians displaced by civil war
Russia and China have opposed the US' decision regarding likely strike against Syria.
DAMASCUS (AP) The head of the U.N. refugee agency in Syria says 7 million Syrians, or almost one-third of the population, have been displaced by the country s civil war.
Tarik Kurdi told The Associated Press on Monday that 5 million of the displaced are still in Syria while about 2 million have fled to neighboring countries. He says 2 million children are among those directly affected by the war.
Kurdi says U.N. assistance has been a "drop in the sea of humanitarian need" and that the funding gap is "very, very wide." He says international donors have sent less than one-third of the money needed to help those displaced by the war.
More than 100,000 Syrians have been killed since an uprising against Syrian President Bashar Assad erupted in 2011.
The information the U.S. showed Moscow trying to prove that the Syrian regime was behind an alleged chemical weapons attack is "absolutely unconvincing," Russia s foreign minister said Monday.
The United States insists Syrian President Bashar Assad s troops were behind the chemical attack on Aug. 21, which they say killed over 1,400 people, and is considering strikes against his regime. Moscow is Assad s key ally and weapons supplier, and its protector at the United Nations.
Speaking at Russia s top diplomatic school, Sergey Lavrov said the evidence Washington presented was not detailed.
"Yes, they showed us some findings but there was nothing specific there: no geographic coordinates, no names, no proof that the tests were carried out by the professionals," Lavrov said. He did not say what tests he was referring to.
"What our American, British and French partners showed us in the past and have showed just recently is absolutely unconvincing," Lavrov said. "And when you ask for more detailed proof they say all of this is classified so we cannot show this to you."
Moreover, China on Monday urged the U.S. not to take unilateral action against Syria in response to last month s chemical weapons attack against civilians.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said Washington had briefed Beijing over the matter and China was highly concerned about any use of chemical weapons.
But he said China opposed the U.S. acting alone and believed any response must conform to the U.N. Charter and the basic principles underlying international relations.
"China ... holds the belief that a political resolution is the only realistic way to solve the Syrian issue," Hong told reporters at a regularly scheduled briefing.
"China is highly concerned about the relevant country s plan on taking unilateral military action," Hong said, adding that the international community must "avoid complicating the Syrian issue and dragging the Middle East down into further disaster."
China has consistently joined Russia in blocking any U.N. action that could lead to the downfall of Syrian President Bashar Assad s government.
The U.S. says the use of chemical weapons in Syria killed at least 1,429 civilians. The U.S. argues that Assad s government is responsible, while others say the evidence is not clear.
President Barack Obama is trying to convince Americans and the world about the need for action in response to the attack. Only France is firmly on board among the major military powers, after Britain s Parliament rejected the use of force in a vote last week.
Russia s foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, said Monday the information the U.S. showed Moscow to prove the Syrian regime was behind the chemical attack was "absolutely unconvincing."
Hong didn t address the possibility of the U.S. acting together with France or another ally, although Beijing would almost certainly be opposed to any action.
