U.S., Kuwait pledge over $1 billion towards Syria crisis

Syrian refugees shop with their humanitarian aid vouchers at the Al Zaatari refugee camp in the Jordanian city of Mafraq, near the border with Syria March 11, 2015. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed

KUWAIT (Reuters) - The United States pledged $507 million (343.30 million pounds) and Kuwait promised $500 million towards easing Syria's humanitarian crisis at an international summit in the Kuwaiti capital on Tuesday.

The United Nations, which is holding the summit, says aid is needed to help 18 million people both in Syria and scattered through the region by more than four years of civil war, as well as the countries and communities struggling to host them.