UNHCR: Number of Syrian refugees tops 2 million mark with more on the way
The number of Syrians forced to seek shelter abroad since civil war began in March 2011 passed the 2 million mark on Tuesday with no sign of the outflow ending soon.
"This trend is nothing less than alarming, representing a jump of almost 1.8 million people in 12 months," UNHCR said. One year ago today, the number of Syrians registered as refugees or awaiting registration stood at about 230,670 people.
UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres said Syria had become "a disgraceful humanitarian calamity with suffering and displacement unparalleled in recent history." He added that "the only solace is the humanity shown by the neighboring countries in welcoming and saving the lives of so many refugees."
The 2 million figure represents Syrians who have registered as refugees or who are pending registration. As of the end August this comprised 110,000 in Egypt, 168,000 in Iraq, 515,000 in Jordan, 716,000 in Lebanon and 460,000 in Turkey. Some 52 per cent of this population are children aged 17 years or below. UNHCR announced only days ago that the number of Syrian child refugees had exceeded 1 million.
A further 4.25 million people are displaced inside Syria, according to data from the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Taken together, these numbers – amounting to more than 6 million people – mean that more Syrians are now forcibly displaced than people from any other country.
UNHCR is active in Syria and is leading the humanitarian response to the refugee crisis in each of the surrounding countries. Humanitarian agencies are worryingly under-supported, with receipt of only 47 per cent of funds required to meet basic refugee needs.
http://www.unhcr.org/522495669.html
Almost 1/3 of Syria's population has been been displaced. About 10% of their total population has left the country as refugees. Another 20% are displaced within the country. That would be the equivalent of 100,000,000 Americans being forced from their homes by violence with 30,000,000 becoming refugees in Canada and Mexico with the other 70,000,000 fleeing to camps within the US.
"More than 97 per cent of Syria's refugees are hosted by countries in the immediate surrounding region ..." I wonder which countries outside of "the immediate surrounding region" have accepted the other 2-3% of Syrian refugees. Sweden just announced that they will be accepting refugees, but there must be others.
The countries providing military help to all sides in the Syrian conflict should, at the very least, provide full funding for the care of all the refugees and internally displaced people that their military assistance has created.