Syrian victims need urgent help, say UAE aid organisations

Humanitarian organisations in the UAE have said that the tens of thousands of victims of the Syrian uprising should be their priority.

DUBAI // Humanitarian organisations in the UAE said today that the tens of thousands of victims of the Syrian uprising should be their priority, a day after UN observers said Syrian government forces massacred over 90 people in fresh attacks.

Aid organisations in the Emirates called for medical assistance at the Syrian borders, a day after the UAE and other Arab League members planned an emergency meeting to discuss the violence.

"There are a lot of injured people, mostly women and children, who need urgent help," said Ateeq Al Mehairi, project manager at the Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Charitable and Humanitarian Foundation. "We should do something given the urgent situation. We should do something according to our ability."

Mr Al Mehairi was speaking during a half-day workshop named Lessons Learned Review: UAE Relief Team in Libya, at the Armed Forces Officers' Club in the capital. The workshop was organised by the Office for the Coordination of the Foreign Aid (OCFA).
Officials at the UAE Red Crescent Authority, which is already assisting Syrian refugees in Jordan and Lebanon, urged other organisations to join them.

"There is so much to do," said Ahmed Al Mazroui, chairman of the RCA, said in a phone interview. "We have sent letters and invited organisations. No one has replied to us. We can't force them to coordinate with us. Our doors are open. We have offices in Beirut and Amman."