A number of charities have launched appeals for Syria this week, as the EU ban on the supply of weapons to the Syrian opposition is lifted.

Embrace the Middle East, the UK’s largest Christian development charity focused solely on the Middle East, has already sent £250,000 to support local Christian-led projects with Syrian refugees inside Lebanon and internally-displaced persons inside Syria.

Today, it has launched an emergency appeal to help those affected by the Syria crisis. Embrace has also expressed its dismay at Monday’s decision by European Union foreign ministers, led by the UK and France, to lift the EU ban on the supply of weapons to the Syrian opposition.

In a statement on Monday condemning the EU decision, Jeremy Moodey, CEO of Embrace, urged the UK government "to work for peace, not yet more bloodshed". He noted that Russia had already responded to the EU decision by announcing an increase in arms supplies to the Syrian regime.
 
Elsewhere, a coalition of charities have launched a new campaign, ‘Help for Syria’, to mobilise greater humanitarian support.

The Help for Syria campaign aims to raise awareness about how young people can best support humanitarian efforts by volunteering, fundraising and mobilising their peers for British-based charities.

Responsible giving

The Charity Commission is supporting the campaign's effort to warn against people giving money to organisations that are not registered with the Charity Commission. In December, the Charity Commission published advice for charities working in Syria.

The Help for Syria campaign is being launched this Wednesday at Senate House in London with the screening of a new film. Over the coming weeks the campaign will travel to universities and colleges across Britain to screen films and hold discussions during a month-long road show.

The campaign comes as a young British doctor, providing medical assistance for victims of the conflict with Help for Syria partner Hand in Hand for Syria, was killed when a shell hit the secret clinic he was working in.

Mr Faddy Sahloul, chairman of Hand in Hand for Syria, commented: “The tragic loss of a volunteer doctor, and the phenomenal public response we have seen by way of donations in his memory, has spurred us into redoubling our humanitarian efforts in his honour.  This brave man loved helping people, and the people of Syria desperately need our help.

“We know that many young people in the UK want to volunteer and truly value this. We would like them to know that they can help the people of Syria in many ways without having to travel there in person, for example, by committing their time, energy and passion into the projects and fundraising initiatives for Syria taking place across the UK."

The DEC Syria Crisis Appeal has now raised £15m so far.