The EU led the way as donors on Monday pledged $5.8 billion euros in aid for Syria at a conference in Brussels -- but the call for funding to help the war-torn country after Bashar al-Assad's ouster fell short of last year as US support dries up.

Western and regional powers are desperate to steer Syria onto the road to stability after 14 years of civil war that have sent millions of refugees over its borders.

For the first time, the Syrian authorities were represented at the annual aid conference in Brussels -- with interim foreign minister Assaad al-Shibani attending.

But an outbreak of deadly violence this month -- the worst since Assad was toppled in December -- has rocked confidence in the new Islamist-led authorities.

Overall the EU said international donors pledged 5.8 billion euros ($6.3 billion), consisting of 4.2 billion euros in grants and 1.6 billion in loans.

That was down on the 7.5 billion promised overall at the conference last year.

The drop came despite European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen saying Brussels was stepping up its commitment for this year and next........

© Al Monitor