Brussels, May 28, (dpa/GNA) – An international donors conference raised €7.5 billion ($8.2 billion) for Syrian refugees on Monday.

EU Crisis Management Commissioner Janez Lenarčič announced that €5 billion of this sum would be provided as grants and €2.5 billion as loans.

“The community proved again that the people in Syria, Syrian refugees and their hosting communities are not forgotten,” Lenarčič said in a statement on X.

German Minister of State Tobias Lindner announced a contribution of about €1 billion to support people in Syria and their host communities.

Some 5.7 million Syrian refugees have fled to neighbouring Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan, according to estimates.

The civil war in Syria started in 2011 with protests against the government led by Head of State Bashar al-Assad. The government responded violently to the protesters, leading the country into chaos.

According to United Nations estimates, 12.9 million people in the country will experience hunger this year and 17 million now require humanitarian assistance.

GNA