KUWAIT CITY
By Ahmed al-Masri
US Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday pledged a fresh $380-million aid package to Syria.
Kerry, who was speaking at a donor conference in Kuwait, said the humanitarian situation in war-ravaged Syria had deteriorated since a first Kuwait donor conference one year ago.
Washington's top diplomat cited recent increases in the number of refugees and people displaced by the violence.
He went on to say that diplomatic efforts to end the crisis would be stepped up at the upcoming Geneva II peace talks, slated for January 22.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, also speaking at the donor conference, said that 9.3 million people in Syria were in need of some $6.5 billion worth of humanitarian aid.
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