GENEVA - China has provided $2 million in urgent aid to Syria through the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Wednesday to help improve the humanitarian situation in the unrest-torn country, a Chinese official said.

Liu Zhenmin, permanent representative of the Permanent Mission to the United Nations Office at Geneva and Other International Organizations in Switzerland, said China has been paying great attention to the humanitarian situation in Syria, and asked the ICRC to purchase basic goods and materials with the fund and distribute to the Syrian people.

ICRC president Jakob Kellenberger thanked China for the donation, and said the money would be mainly used to purchase food and medical care.

He said intense fighting still posed the biggest obstacle for the ICRC work in Syria.