{UAH} WEALTHY, POWERFULL NATIONS FUELING SYRIAN CONFLICT SAYS OXFAM

Wealthy, Powerful Nations Fueling Syrian Conflict Says Oxfam

Children hang from the barrel of a tank, which was captured by the Free Syrian Army, in Azaz city, north Aleppo, Syria. | Photo: Reuters

The international aid group said countries like the U.S., the U.K. and Saudi Arabia are fueling the Syrian conflict, while doing little to help Syrians.

In a report released Wednesday, Oxfam International slammed wealthy and powerful nations, including the United States, the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia over flooding war-torn Syria with weapons and further escalating a four-year conflict that has killed more than 200,000 and displaced millions.

"Most wealthy countries are not contributing their fair share to the aid response — appeals are now funded at 44 percent only," Oxfam's Solidarity with Syrians report said."They have also failed to provide safe and legal routes for Syrians to their territory, including not doing enough to ensure that vulnerable refugees are offered resettlement and other forms of humanitarian admission in sufficient numbers."

The U.S., the U.K., and Kuwait are identified by researchers as "less than generous in their offers to welcome the most vulnerable refugees."

The U.S. admitted last month that it had hosted only 1,500 Syrian refugees since the beginning of the conflict in 2011. Also, since September 2014 Washington, along with several of its regional Arab allies, have been bombing Syria as part of an anti-Islamic State group coalition that has been accused of killing hundreds of civilians so far.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that the U.S.-led coalition has killed almost 3,000 people, including 162 civilians.

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"The violence in Syria is intensifying, fueled by a divided international community and the transfer of arms and ammunition to warring parties," said Andy Baker, head of Oxfam's Syria crisis response, in a statement accompanying the report. "Faced with this grim situation, many Syrians are literally jumping in the water to seek a better future."

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia and its allies in the Gulf Cooperation Council have been accused of taking zero refugees despite being the richest Arab nations, while other much poorer nations in the region, such as Jordan and Lebanon, host millions of Syrian refugees.

The report slammed the Gulf countries for avoiding its commitments for refugees as they have yet to sign the 1951 Refugee Convention. It also called on rich nations to provide an alternative option for the “most vulnerable Syrians, while guaranteeing their rights in line with the Convention – such as legal protection, other assistance and social rights.”

Saudi Arabia and Qatar have been supplying rebels with weapons and support in a bid to oust Syrian President Bashar Assad.

“Some Gulf countries continue to finance arms and ammunition transfers to the opposition, in coordination with, among others, the United States,” the report warned.

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