A handout photo made available by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) shows people and security officers gathering at the site of explosion in Akrama district, in the central province of Homs, Syria, 28 February: photo - EPA/SANA
The Polish Humanitarian Action (PAH) charity says it hopes to use money being raised in Poland to purchase goods in Turkey that can be then transported by convoy to near the city of Aleppo, where some of the worst fighting between rebels and forces loyal to Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad is currently taking place.
“The situation on the ground is very dangerous, and we don't know whether we ourselves will be be able to get to Syria, but we may at least be able to manage this transport,” Olga Blumczynska from PAH told Polish Radio.
PAH is currently cooperating with Syrian NGOs in Turkey and has been working in Lebanon, where around one-third of the refugees are seeking shelter.
"Syria is spiralling towards full-scale disaster," the UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres said on Wednesday, warning that the international humanitarian response capacity was "dangerously stretched", the BBC reports.
Over 20 prominent Polish figures have signed a letter appealing to members of the public to support the action, including former president Aleksander Kwasniewski, film-maker Andrzej Wajda and Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, former secretary to Pope John Paul II.
“An escalation of attacks on civilians can be witnessed at the moment in everyday life in Syria, there is a lack of funds for medical dressings, medicine, food and warm clothing,” the letter stresses.
“Life continues in ruined houses without heating or the possibility to prepare a warm meal, and with no access to warm water.”
Meanwhile the UN has estimated that over 70,000 people have lost their lives because of the conflict.
In an interview with Britain's The Sunday Times on 3 March, Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad nevertheless claimed that he was now prepared “to negotiate with anyone, including militants who surrender their arms.
“We are not going to deal with terrorists who are determined to carry weapons, to terrorise people, to kill civilians, to attack public places or private enterprise and to destroy the country,” he said. (nh/pg)