Iceland Devoting Half A Billion ISK To Syrian Refugees

Prime Minister Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson announced in London last night that Iceland would be putting half a billion ISK towards Syrian refugees.

The Prime Minister made the announcement at the Supporting Syria Conference currently being held in London.

PM Gunnlaugsson, announces Iceland will allocate 500m ISK ($3.9m) for Syria & the region in 2016 #supportsyrians pic.twitter.com/SQu4uA0AEL

— Embassy of Iceland (@IcelandinUK) February 4, 2016

Vísir points out that the Icelandic government approved last autumn a measure to devote 2 billion ISK towards refugees and asylum seekers over the next two years, with a special emphasis placed on the anticipated upswing of refugees from Syria. This half a billion ISK the PM mentions will be derived from this allocation.

Numerous world leaders are convened at the conference, deciding on how much money to use to help Syria. Conspicuously absent from these talks are the Kurds. While Kurds across Turkey, Syria and Iraq have made significant military gains against Daesh (a.k.a. the Islamic State), Turkey have been engaging in repressive military strikes against the Kurds, in large part because the Kurds want to establish their own country.

Kurdish exclusion from the conference, which Turkey was invited to attend, has prompted protests from Kurds and Syrians, both at the conference itself and from around the world.