Syrian Refugees May Pass Afghan Refugees, Says UN
Syrians could soon overtake Afghans as the world’s biggest refugee population, predicts United Nation`s refugee commissioner.
Arutz Sheva –Syrians could soon overtake Afghans as the world’s biggest refugee population, a top UN official said Tuesday, according toThe Associated Press (AP).
According to the report, the number of Syrian refugeesis expected to pass 4 million by year’s end.
High Commissioner forRefugeesAntonio Guterres spoke as the international community sharply urged Syria to comply with a new Security Council resolution demanding that President Bashar Al-Assad and the opposition provide immediate access for humanitarian aid.
Opposition activists say more than 140,000 people have died inthe conflict, which enters its fourth year next month. The UN says 9.3 million Syrians are in need of humanitarian assistance.
The number of Afghanrefugeeswas 2.6 million at the end of 2012, UNHCR says, according toAP. Syrians, with nearly 2.5 million registered asrefugees, should overtake that long before the end of the year. About one-half of the refugees are children.
“It breaks my heart to see this nation that for decades welcomedrefugeesfrom other countries ripped apart and forced into exile itself,” Guterres told the UN GeneralAssembly.
Just five years ago, Syria hosted the world’s second-largest number ofrefugees, he added.
The number of Syrianrefugeesnow registered in far smaller Lebanon, for example, is the equivalent of having 71 million of them registered inthe United Statesor almost 15 million in France, Guterres said, according to AP.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the Syrian government should allow more humanitarian workers into the country, which UN officials have called a major issue in reaching an estimated 3.3 million people in isolated areas.
Estimates provided by the UN last year said that some four million people were displaced inside Syria, in addition to therefugeesthat had managed to flee the country.
Refugeesfrom Syria are a problem not only for Lebanon, but also for Turkey and Jordan, which has been forced to dea l with a flood of refugees.
U.S. President Barack Obama recently promised to provide Jordan with more aid that will allow it to deal with the Syrian refugee problem.