Syria Crisis Deepens as 500,000 People Fleeing Lebanon War Seek Asylum: UN

WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) – The refugee crisis in Syria is ‘deepening and widening’, with more than 500,000 people fleeing war in Lebanon, including 16.7 million already seeking refuge in the neighboring country, top UN humanitarian officials say. Warns that the person has been added.

In their joint statement, Syria Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Aid Coordinator Adam Abdelmoula and Regional Humanitarian Aid Coordinator Ramanathan Balakrishnan pointed out that two out of every three people in Syria need aid.

More than 75 percent of the new arrivals since the war between Israel and Hezbollah fighters escalated in September are women, children and people with special needs.

“These people were forced to seek refuge in a country that has been under the influence of a humanitarian crisis that has been going on for more than a decade,” officials said.

‘Most new arrivals are hosted with relatives and friends from already struggling communities. They are accessing services provided through existing humanitarian response mechanisms that are already stretched to breaking point.’

The $4.07 billion Syria Humanitarian Response Plan is only 27.5 percent funded, the United Nations said in a press release. Since the Emergency Appeal was launched in September seeking an additional $324 million, only 10 percent has been secured.

Senior UN officials have called on the donor community to significantly and urgently increase its support for Syria’s humanitarian response.

Related Posts