EU doubles aid for Lebanon, warns of 'catastrophe'

11 minutes ago

BRUSSELS (AFP) - The European Commission has announced a doubling of its emergency aid for Lebanon, to 10 million euros (12.6 million dollars), warning of a humanitarian "catastrophe" if fighting continues there.

The European Union's executive arm urged all sides to respect international law to allow aid workers into the conflict zone, where hundreds of thousands of people are fleeing the violence.

"We are assessing the situation so that we can express our solidarity to the civilians that are suffering in this terrible conflict," said commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso during a visit to Finland on Thursday, which holds the EU's presidency.

On Monday the Commission said it had earmarked five million euros in humanitarian aid for Lebanon, which would be given to UN agencies, NGOs and the Red Cross/Crescent movement to finance emergency relief operations.

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