BRUSSELS, June 15 (Reuters) - The European Union hosts an international conference on Thursday to collect money for Syria where an earthquake earlier this year aggravated the already dire plight of people who have been caught in war since 2011.
About 5.5 million Syrian refugees live in neighbouring Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq as well as Egypt.
The U.N. chiefs said they hoped for a similar level of pledges to the $6.7 billion offered for Syria and its neighbours at a similar conference last year.
"Humanitarian funding for Syria is not keeping pace with rapidly increasing needs," said Janez Lenarcic, the conference host and the EU's top official for humanitarian aid and crisis management.
Lenarcic also called for extended humanitarian access from Turkey to the northwestern part of Syria.
Persons:
Martin Griffiths, Filippo Grandi, Achim Steiner, Janez Lenarcic, Bashar al Assad's, Assad, Lenarcic, Gabriela Baczynska, Mark Heinrich Our
Organizations:
European Union, Three United Nations, UNHCR, Thomson
Locations:
BRUSSELS, Syria, Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt, Russia, Iran, Turkish, U.S