UNITED NATIONS: A top United Nations relief official warned on Monday that the humanitarian response for Syria was facing a critical shortage of funds and called on the donor community to scale up their contributions to enable aid agencies to help people affected by the escalating crisis.

“If we don’t get more money, people will die and there will be more humanitarian suffering. The needs will continue to grow as long as this conflict continues – that is a sad and tragic truth,” John Ging, the Director of the Coordination and Response Division of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said.

To date, the $189 million appeal for assistance for the response inside Syria is 20 per cent funded, while the $193 million appeal for the response to assist refugees in Turkey, Lebanon Jordan and Iraq is also 20 per cent funded.