Obama pledges $195M more in humanitarian and food aid to Syria
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Aug 7, 2013: President Barack Obama waves from the door of Air Force One for his return to Washington, after a two-day swing through Southern California, at Los Angeles International Airport. (AP)
President Barack Obama says the U.S. is providing an additional $195 million in humanitarian and food aid to Syria.
That means the U.S. has now sent more than $1 billion in humanitarian aid since the 2-year-old Syrian civil war started.
Obama is timing the new aid to coincide with Eid al-Fitr (ayd ahl-FIH'-tur), a holiday marking the end of Ramadan, Islam's holy month of fasting.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Obama says many Americans have celebrated Ramadan with Muslims. He says millions in Syria are displaced and that the U.S. wants to help.
The humanitarian aid follows recent approval of a U.S. aid package of weapons to Syrian rebels aimed at reversing recent battlefield gains by President Bashar Assad.
The White House issued the statement Wednesday while Obama was traveling in California.