Venezuela and ALBA to Send Humanitarian Aid to Syrian Refugees

Merida, 10^th September 2013 (Venezuelanalysis.com) – Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro announced that a Bolivarian National Armed Forces plane will soon carry humanitarian aid to Syrian refugees in Beirut, Lebanon.

The initiative came out of a resolution from the political council of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA) meeting in Caracas over the weekend.

The plane will bring blankets, medicine, and food.

“Alba has decided to send planes with humanitarian help, given the grave situation of Syrians in Lebanon, to whom no one is providing in any help,” Venezuelan foreign minster Elias Jaua said.

The ALBA resolution rejected any intervention or military action in Syria. It stated that, “The ALBA will send planes loaded with life while the United States hopes to send planes loaded with bombs that cause death and destruction”.

“It’s the least that we can do as a testimony to active solidarity, to the love of the peoples of Latin America and especially those participating in the ALBA… a testimony to our deep commitment to peace and life for …Syria,” Jaua said.

According to Telesur’s reporter in Damascus, Hisham Wannous, the Syrian people appreciate the ALBA’s humanitarian help. “The people of Syria have ratified that the regional bloc has stayed by their side, providing help and support,” he said.

Wannous said that at least seven million Syrians have felt the need to flee their homes since the civil war began, five million of those “moving to secure places within the territory and the rest crossing the borders to seek refuge in neighbouring countries”.

Maduro also announced yesterday that people in Venezuela will participate in the “praying and fasting for peace” called for by Pope Francisco for next Saturday.

Further, he said he had received no response to the letter he sent to Barack Obama a week ago, calling for peace.