Germany will provide 100 million euros (US$115 million) for the development of areas of Iraq and Syria that were destroyed by the ISIS terrorist group.
The Foreign and Development Ministries said Wednesday 90 million euros would be made available through the UN's Funding Facility for Stabilization for Iraq to restore electrical grids, water and sewer projects, street and bridge repairs and other infrastructure efforts.
Another 10 million euros is being allocated to restore basic services to the Syrian provinces of Raqqa and Deir el-Zour, which are not under the regime's control.
Since 2015, Germany has taken in more than 1 million refugees, many from Iraq and Syria, and the ministries say part of their goal is to help stabilize the areas so that people can return.
A year after ISIS’ ouster from their former Raqqa bastion, much of the city remains in ruins.
Human rights group Amnesty International estimates around 80 percent of Raqqa was devastated by fighting, including vital infrastructure like schools and hospitals.
The national hospital, the city's largest medical facility, was where ISIS made its final stand. It still lies ravaged.
Private homes were not spared either: 30,000 houses were fully destroyed and another 25,000 heavily damaged, says Amnesty.
