Civilians will continue to pay the price for political failure in Syria

End the failure in Syria

Trócaire Executive Director Éamonn Meehan said:

“The use of chemical gases and nerve agents is abhorrent and must not be accepted. What the people of Syria want in response is a peace process, not more bombs. A further escalation of violence will lead only to more civilian suffering. Trócaire calls on all parties involved to refrain from military escalation and focus on a diplomatic resolution.

“Civilians are the priority and their protection paramount. Every aspect of international Humanitarian Law is being disregarded. The boundaries of humanity have been breached by this war. The fact that it has dragged on for over seven years is an indictment of the international community. The world has failed the people of Syria. There must be an end to their suffering.

“I welcome Ireland’s diplomatic efforts to date but we must now step up our efforts at EU level. The Future of Syria conference will take place in Brussels later this month [April 24/25]. We ask that the Irish Government representative attending demands that the EU and UN member states urgently find a full diplomatic resolution. The alternative is unthinkable.”

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Students at a school in Aleppo that is supported by Trócaire. (Photo: Caritas)

Humanitarian aid for Syria

The conflict in Syria has resulted in the worst humanitarian crisis in a generation. Over 500,000 people have been killed. A further 5.5 million have fled and 6.1 million are displaced internally.

Trócaire works in Syria and Lebanon to provide humanitarian aid, as well as education and psychological support, to people affected. Last year, our Syria programme supported over 72,000 people, the vast majority of whom – 65,000 – were in Syria itself. 

Donate directly to our Syria appeal to support civilians.