EU confce pledges $6.3b for Syria's recovery

BRUSSELS, Mar 18 (Reuters): Donors at a European Union-led conference on Monday pledged 5.8 billion euros ($6.3 billion) to help Syria's new authorities as they struggle with humanitarian and security problems after the fall of Bashar al-Assad.

The pledges at the Brussels gathering were less than last year's 7.5 billion euros in grants and loans, as EU officials pointed to US aid cuts as a major contributing factor.

The annual conference has been hosted by the EU since 2017 - but took place without the government of Assad, who was shunned for his brutal actions in a civil war that began in 2011.

In a first for a top official from Damascus, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani attended the conference along with dozens of European and Arab ministers and representatives of international organisations.

After Assad's overthrow in December, European Union officials hope to use the conference as a fresh start, despite concerns about deadly violence this month that pitted the new, Islamist rulers against Assad loyalists.

"This is a time of dire needs and challenges for Syria, " EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said.