Politics Saudi Arabia sends relief supplies to Syria
Saudi Arabia has flown humanitarian aid to its regional neighbor for the first time since the upheaval in Syria. The Saudi state agency SPA described the flight as the start of an air bridge to Syria, which is to be followed by a land bridge. According to the SPA report, the first flight from the Saudi capital Riyadh brought food, emergency shelters and medicines, among other things, to Syria. During the Syrian civil war in 2011 until the end of 2024, Saudi Arabia provided aid amounting to more than 850 million US dollars.
01.01.2025, 14:49
SDA
During the civil war, Saudi Arabia, like Qatar and Turkey, initially supported the insurgents who wanted to overthrow the government of ruler Bashar al-Assad. Riyadh had financed and armed various opposition groups. Following the violent suppression of protests against Assad in Syria, Saudi Arabia put diplomatic relations with Damascus on hold. After more than a decade of diplomatic isolation, Syria was readmitted to the Arab League in 2023 - and relations with Riyadh also normalized.
More than 16 million people in Syria are dependent on humanitarian aid. According to UN figures, this is the highest number of people in need of help since the civil war began in 2011.
