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Aid organizations are appealing for funds to help Syria recover from an eight-year war that has driven more than 6 million people from the country and displaced many more inside Syria.

Donors from around 85 countries are gathering in Brussels for a pledging conference.

NGOs and think-tanks insist that the conflict, which has killed more than 400,000 people and sparked a refugee exodus that destabilized Syria's neighbors and hit Europe, is far from over.

Oxfam Syria Director Moutaz Adham said Tuesday that funds are "needed for essential services like water, education and health-care," and that without it "Syrians will continue to suffer for many more years to come."

Around 80 percent of people inside Syria live in extreme poverty. Refugees are reluctant to return, fearing violence, conscription or prison.