South Korea's foreign ministry said Monday it plans to provide an additional US$1 million in humanitarian aid to help Syrian refugees amid escalating violence being waged by Daesh group, Yonhap reported.
The humanitarian crisis has heightened in northern Iraq and Syria, as Daesh extremists control wide swaths of both countries. The US and Arab countries launched airstrikes on Daesh targets in Syria on September 22 in a bid to defeat the extremist group's power base.
Seoul's foreign ministry said that it plans to offer the humanitarian aid to Syrian refugees on top of its $5 million contribution made earlier this year.
"The money will be used to help about 150,000 Syrian children who are staying in refugee camps in Jordan for their education and protection," the ministry said.
Seoul also said last week that it will provide an additional $4 million in humanitarian assistance to Iraqi refugees who have been displaced by violence from the Daesh group. South Korea has offered aid worth a combined $1.2 million to Iraqi refugees so far.
The United Nations has designated the humanitarian situations in Iraq and Syria a "Level 3 Emergency," its highest crisis level.
The foreign ministry said that Seoul plans to expand humanitarian aid as a responsible middle-power member to the international community when emergency humanitarian crises occur.