Syria appeal raises £3.4 million

An appeal to raise money for the millions of people affected by the fighting in Syria has raised £3.4 million in donations from the British public.

The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) called the situation in the Middle East country a "catastrophic humanitarian crisis".

Its Syria Crisis Appeal is raising funds for the five million people it says are affected by the fighting who now need "urgent humanitarian aid", and the three million who have been forced from their homes.

The DEC's members - the UK's 14 leading charities - will use the funds in Syria and the neighbouring countries, to which more than one million refugees have fled.

They are providing aid such as food, clean water, emergency shelter and medical care.

DEC chief executive Saleh Saeed said: "The public is responding with huge generosity to this catastrophic humanitarian crisis. The fighting inside Syria has torn lives apart, forcing people to leave their homes to flee to neighbouring countries.

"This vital fundraising must continue to help save lives and reduce the suffering of Syrian people."

The DEC Syria Crisis Appeal was launched last Thursday.