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US Allocates $720 to Assist Syrians Inside Their Country, Across The Region

FILE PHOTO: US Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun speaks to the media beside his South Korean counterpart Lee Do-hoon after their meeting at the Foreign Ministry in Seoul, South Korea, July 8, 2020. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/Pool
FILE PHOTO: US Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun speaks to the media beside his South Korean counterpart Lee Do-hoon after their meeting at the Foreign Ministry in Seoul, South Korea, July 8, 2020. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/Pool
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US Allocates $720 to Assist Syrians Inside Their Country, Across The Region

FILE PHOTO: US Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun speaks to the media beside his South Korean counterpart Lee Do-hoon after their meeting at the Foreign Ministry in Seoul, South Korea, July 8, 2020. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/Pool
FILE PHOTO: US Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun speaks to the media beside his South Korean counterpart Lee Do-hoon after their meeting at the Foreign Ministry in Seoul, South Korea, July 8, 2020. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/Pool

Washington revealed on Thursday plans to send more than $720 million in humanitarian assistance to Syria.

Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun made the announcement on Syria at an event on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. He said the money would go “both for Syrians inside the country and for those in desperate need across the region.”

He noted that the additional funds for Syria would bring total US support since the start of the crisis there to more than $12 billion.

A crackdown by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on protesters in 2011 led to civil war, with Iran and Russia backing the regime and the US supporting the opposition. Millions have fled Syria and millions more have been internally displaced, Reuters reported.

In July, the US imposed new sanctions aimed at cutting off funds to Assad.

Syrian authorities blame Western sanctions for civilian hardship in the country, where a collapse of the currency has led to soaring prices and people struggling to afford food and basic supplies.

Meanwhile, Washington said its sanctions are not intended to harm the people and do not target humanitarian assistance.

At the same event, acting USAID Administrator John Barsa announced that nearly $152 million will be provided for Africa’s Sahel region and up to $108 million for South Sudan.

Barca also the new humanitarian assistance will reach Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso and Mauritania to help them cope with population displacements and food insecurity because of conflict in the Sahel region.

For his part, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said heavy rains, fighting between armed groups, food insecurity, a deteriorating economic situation and the COVID-19 pandemic had compounded an already dire humanitarian crisis in South Sudan.

He said the funds for South Sudan would go to help South Sudanese in the country and in neighboring states.

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Arab World

Fishers at a Lebanese Port Hope Ceasefire with Israel Means Normal Life is Returning

Most of the 700 fishers who work on the 270 boats at the Tyre port have not sailed out of concern since the Israeli army in October barred any boats from an area 50 kilometers from the order. (AP)
Most of the 700 fishers who work on the 270 boats at the Tyre port have not sailed out of concern since the Israeli army in October barred any boats from an area 50 kilometers from the order. (AP)
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Fishers at a Lebanese Port Hope Ceasefire with Israel Means Normal Life is Returning

Most of the 700 fishers who work on the 270 boats at the Tyre port have not sailed out of concern since the Israeli army in October barred any boats from an area 50 kilometers from the order. (AP)
Most of the 700 fishers who work on the 270 boats at the Tyre port have not sailed out of concern since the Israeli army in October barred any boats from an area 50 kilometers from the order. (AP)

The ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah brought hope for normality back to many in southern Lebanon on Friday, including fishermen who have long launched their single-engine wooden boats into the Mediterranean at dawn.
During the last two months of its year fighting Hezbollah, Israel imposed a siege on southern Lebanon that kept hundreds of fishers at this ancient Phoenician port on shore, upending their lives and the industry.
While less important than destruction and displacement, the port siege cut many people off from the key ingredients for traditional Lebanese dishes like sayadiyeh — fish and rice boiled in fish sauce — or fried and grilled fish eaten with dips such as hummus and tabbouleh or fattoush salads.
The loss of fish damaged a deep association with home, but now the possibility of renewed Lebanese fishing on the country's southern coast is helping fuel hope for a brighter future.
On Friday, a few boats went out close to the shore as fishers in the port worked on the nets of small boats painted white, blue or red.
Hussein Sukmani, 55, said Friday that he was considering going to sea in coming days but was waiting to see how things unfold.
He hasn't dared set sail since the Israel-Hezbollah war dramatically intensified on Sept. 23. “They were days of fear and horror,” he said. "They were the most difficult days of our lives.”
A week ago, a drone strike killed two young fishers in the city as they prepared their nets on the coast, and some fishermen said Friday that the Lebanese army told them that if they headed out it would be at their own risk .
Among those who sailed near the coast on Friday was Walid Darwish, who returned to the port with two plastic boxes filled with mullet.
“Today is the first time that we sail,” Darwish said, adding that fishers had missed the prime season in October and November.
“We lost it,” he said.
The Israeli army barred any boats from an area 50 kilometers (31 miles) from the border in October and has not said whether the warning is still in effect.
Sukmani said that most of the 700 fishers who work on the 270 boats at the port have not sailed out of concern since then.
The area around the port is a predominantly Christian neighborhood that has been spared much of the airstrikes on other parts of Tyre that leveled buildings in this city.
In peaceful times, the port is a major tourist attraction, beloved by Lebanese and foreigners who come for the views, the restaurants and the beaches.
On Friday, Mohammed Hammoud walked along the coast of Tyre carrying his fishing rod.
“It is enough that someone is able to stand in this beautiful area,” he said, pointing to the white sands. “Fishing is everything for me,” added Hammoud, who went to fish several times in the area north of the city of Sidon that was not part of the siege.
In the old market of Tyre, Gilbert Spiridon watched from inside his shop as people came to buy freshly brought fish. Before the war, it took hours to sell all his fish to people from around Lebanon.
“All I wish is that the war has ended and we are back on track to the old good days,” he said.