UAE announces $5 million emergency aid package for Syrian refugees in Lebanon

The money will be provided by the Khalifa bin Zayed Humanitarian Fund

A Syrian refugee hangs clothes to dry at a flooded refugee camp in the town of Bar Elias, in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, Thursday, Jan. 10, 2019. AP

The UAE has announced emergency aid worth $5 million (Dh18.4m) for displaced Syrian refugees in Lebanon.

The money for the aid package will be provided under the directives of President Sheikh Khalifa  and Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.

The individual overseeing the delivery of the emergency aid is Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs and Chairman of the Khalifa bin Zayed Humanitarian Fund.

"These generous directives from our wise leadership are an extension of the humanitarian role played by the UAE to help the Syrian refugees in all Lebanese provinces," Wam news agency reported.

Lebanese refugee camps have been battered by successive storms that have flooded with rainwater, destroying their tents, mattresses and food.

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At a ceremony in Beirut, Hamad Saeed Sultan Al Shamsi, UAE Ambassador to Lebanon, on Friday announced further details of the winter aid campaign. It will provide food supplies, blankets, heaters, clothin, and tents for a number of areas that have been severely affected by harsh weather conditions, especially the northern regions, the Wam news agency reported.

"In line with the urgent appeals made by those concerned in Lebanon as a result of the storms that hit displaced Syrians and caused heavy losses, the humanitarian and development attache of the UAE Embassy launched an urgent humanitarian campaign to provide food supplies, blankets, fireplaces, fuel and clothes as well as tents in severely damaged areas," Ambassador Al Shamsi said.

The UAE, he said, has always been part of the humanitarian efforts, and is among the pioneering countries who stand by others and support them. "This State would not have been a model for development without its vision of humanity, which is an inherent legacy in the country's foreign policy, initiated by the Founding Founder, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, and is followed by President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan," he said.

The ceremony at the UAE embassy in Beirut was attended by senior representatives from the Lebanese government, Red Cross and office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Lebanon.