Saudi offers $100 million to US-backed Syria drive

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Saudi offers $100 million to US-backed Syria drive

Riyadh - The US government has not officially confirmed the reports.

By AFP

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Published: Sun 19 Aug 2018, 12:08 AM

Saudi Arabia on Friday announced a $100 million contribution to a US-backed campaign to "stabilise" northeastern Syria, once a bastion of the radical Daesh group.
The 88 million euro contribution is the biggest single cash injection yet for reconstruction efforts in areas formerly controlled by the militants.
The group declared a "caliphate" after seizing swathes of Iraq and Syria in 2014, but has since been ousted from most of that territory including its former de facto Syrian capital Raqqa and a pocket of Damascus.
Riyadh's contribution aims to support "stabilisation projects" and "will play a critical role in the coalition's efforts to revitalise communities, such as Raqqa, that have been devastated by Daesh terrorists," read a statement by the Saudi embassy in Washington.
It said the money would "save lives, help facilitate the return of displaced Syrians, and help ensure that Daesh cannot reemerge to threaten Syria, its neighbours, or plan attacks against the international community."
In April, reports emerged that the US was looking to build an Arab force to replace its troops in northeastern Syria. The US government has not officially confirmed the reports.


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