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Over 11 million Syrians have now been displaced due to the four-year civil war in their country, while more than four million have crossed borders fleeing from the violence and despair caused by the conflict, according to the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR).
"This is the biggest refugee population from a single conflict in a generation. It is a population that needs the support of the world but is instead living in dire conditions and sinking deeper into poverty," said U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres.
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Turkey alone is hosting nearly two million Syrian refugees, the UNHCR added in a report released Thursday.
The U.N. has described the situation as the world's single largest refugee crisis in the last 25 years.
Fleeing violence and poverty only to face rejection and further crisis. (Photo: Reuters)
The UNHCR indicated that 4,013,000 Syrians have so far fled their country seeking a safe haven, while an additional 7.6 million have been displaced within Syria.
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The U.N. body added that today Turkey is the biggest host of refugees in the world with over 1.8 million Syrian refugees.
The number of people fleeing the civil war in Syria has now passed four million, according to the UN refugee agency. Worsening conditions are driving growing numbers towards Europe and further afield, but the overwhelming majority remain in the region,” Guterres said.
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Iraq, which is facing its own conflict against the Islamic State group – created by the negligence of the United States and its Western allies – is hosting almost 250,000 Syrian refugees. Jordan has reported almost 630,000, while Lebanon is housing 1.2 million. Egypt has 132,000 Syrian refugees in its territory.
Europe has received 270,000 asylum applications by Syrians.
In the meantime, the Syrian conflict has entered in its fifth year, with the violence leaving more than 220,000 people dead.
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