Arab and western countries pledged a total of $3.8bn at an international donors’ conference held in Kuwait on 31 March to help civilians suffering from the civil war in Syria. Key contributors were Kuwait, the US and Saudi Arabia.

This is less than half the $8.4bn ($2.9bn for displaced Syrians inside the country and $5.5bn for refugees outside) that the UN requested for 2015. Nearly 3.8mn Syrians are refugees in neighboring countries, mainly Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt. (CONTINUED - 317 WORDS)