UN calls for action as Syrian refugee numbers exceed 5 million
The UN refugee agency UNHCR has said that more than 5 million people have fled Syria during its six-year conflict. It called on the international community to do more to help them, DW reports.
The UN refugee agency UNHCR on Thursday called on countries outside the Middle East to take in more Syrians under long-term resettlement programs, as it announced that the number of Syrian refugees had now passed the 5 million mark. About 20 million people lived in Syria before the outbreak of the war.
“We still have a long road to travel in expanding resettlement and the number and range of complementary pathways available for refugees,” said UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi in Geneva.
“To meet this challenge, we not only need additional places but also need to accelerate the implementation of existing pledges,” he added.
His remarks come a year after countries meeting at a Geneva conference pledged to resettle 10 percent of all Syrian refugees by 2018. The UNHCR said on Thursday that only 250,000 of the 500,000 refugee spots called for at the meeting had been made available.
