UN: The Number of Syrian Refugees in the Region Exceeds 5 Million

The United Nations Office for the Refugees announced on Thursday, April 10, that the number of Syrian refugees who have fled the civil war in their country to neighboring countries and Egypt has surpassed 5 million. According to Reuters, since 2011, when the suppression of protests turned into a full-scale civil war among rebel groups, radical Islamist factions, government forces, and foreign supporters of each side, millions of people have fled to Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, and Iraq. Following the stabilization of the number of refugees in 2016, this year, after the victory of government forces supported by Russia and Iran-backed armed groups in the city of Aleppo, the number of refugees leaving Syria has increased. Babar Baloch, spokesperson for the UN Refugee Office, noted that the Syrian civil war has now lasted longer than World War II, stating, "It's not about numbers; we are talking about people. Our goal is to foster solidarity, humanity, and understanding of this situation." The crossing of the number of Syrian refugees and displaced persons over 5 million coincides with the one-year anniversary of the UN Refugee Office's call for countries around the world to accept at least 10 percent of the most vulnerable refugees. In the year since that date, only 250,000 offers for refugee acceptance have been received. Babar Baloch added, "We are calling for legal methods of travel and acceptance for Syrian refugees so that they are not killed on dangerous sea routes like the Mediterranean Sea." In 2017, approximately 1.2 million refugees from all nationalities need to be accepted in other countries, with about 40 percent of these individuals being Syrian nationals. After Donald Trump's order that banned the entry of Syrian refugees into the U.S., concerns about their fate increased. However, in the revised text of this order, the section regarding Syrian refugees was lifted. Babar Baloch stated, "The U.S. is still the largest recipient of refugees. We hope that attention will again be drawn to accepting the most vulnerable section of refugees, and that all countries of the world will feel a sense of responsibility and solidarity in this regard." More than 5 million people have also been displaced within Syria itself. For example, this month, tens of thousands, mostly women and children, were displaced to escape attacks by rebel groups in the city of Hama in northwestern Syria. A large number of Syrian refugees have gone to Europe. Between April 2011 and October 2016, Syrian nationals submitted about 885,000 asylum applications in European countries, with about two-thirds of these applications in Germany and Sweden. Hundreds of thousands more live in Gulf Arab countries, which are not covered by the 1951 Refugee Convention and, as a result, are not recognized as refugees. The UN had requested $4.6 billion for Syrian refugees and assistance to host countries, but so far has received only 6 percent of this amount, approximately $300 million.