Number of Syrian refugees tops 1 million – UN

The number of Syrian refugees seeking haven in neighboring countries has reached one million, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees said on Wednesday. Antonio Guterres said that the largest numbers of refugees were seeking shelter in Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt.
The number of Syrians who have fled their country since a deadly civil conflict erupted two years ago has hit one million, the UN's refugee agency said Wednesday.

"With a million people in flight, millions more displaced internally, and thousands of people continuing to cross the border every day, Syria is spiralling towards full-scale disaster," UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres said in a statement.

"We are doing everything we can to help, but the international humanitarian response capacity is dangerously stretched. This tragedy has to be stopped."

The UNHCR said the one million figure comprised both registered refugees and those awaiting registration, and that the count was based on fresh data received from its offices in the Middle East.

The agency previously had estimated that numbers would reach 1.1 million by June but said Wednesday that it would adjust that figure.

The exodus has intensified this year, the UNHCR said, with 400,000 Syrians fleeing their country since January 1.

Only a year ago, the UN agency had only registered 33,000 refugees.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces fiercely cracked down on what were initially unarmed protests inspired by the Arab Spring but the crisis has since escalated into a deadly civil war.

The UN said the latest refugees "arrive traumatised, without possessions and having lost members of their families." Around half of the refugees are children, the majority under the age of eleven.

Over 70,000 people have been killed since March 2011, according to the United Nations.

The UNHCR chief is due to travel to the region later this week to visit the agency's operations in Turkey, Jordan, and Lebanon,AFP reports.