UNITED NATIONS/DAMASCUS - With an estimated 5,000 desperate Syrians fleeing their homes every day, the spiralling violence in the country has now created more than 2 million refugees, the United Nations refugee agency announced Tuesday, adding that there is no sign the “humanitarian calamity” will end anytime soon.
“The war is now well into its third year and Syria is haemorrhaging women, children and men who cross borders often with little more than the clothes on their backs,” the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said in a statement released to mark the milestone. “This trend is nothing less than alarming, representing a jump of almost 1.8 million people in 12 months.”
One year ago Tuesday, the number of Syrians registered as refugees or awaiting registration stood at about 230,670 people.
UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres said Syria had become “a disgraceful humanitarian calamity with suffering and displacement unparalleled in recent history.” He added that “the only solace is the humanity shown by the neighbouring countries in welcoming and saving the lives of so many refugees.”
More than 97 per cent of Syria’s refugees are hosted by countries in the immediate surrounding region. As of the end August, the number of Syrians registered as refugees or pending registration was 110,000 in Egypt, 168,000 in Iraq, 515,000 in Jordan, 716,000 in Lebanon and 460,000 in Turkey. Over half of them are children under 17 years of age.
AFP adds: US officials pressed a bid to secure congressional support for military strikes on Damascus. Obama shocked Washington and the world on Saturday when he decided to seek support for military action in Syria from Congress, putting his plans on hold and effectively giving more time for civilians to flee.
As part of White House strategy to persuade sceptical lawmakers to back what Obama said would be “limited” and “narrow” action in Syria, the US secretaries of state and defence were to go before a Senate panel on Tuesday.
In what will be one of the most high-profile political set pieces in Washington in weeks, John Kerry and Chuck Hagel will testify to the Senate Foreign Relations committee.
Kerry will argue that failing to act in Syria “unravels the deterrent impact of the international norm against chemical weapons use,” a senior State Department official said on condition of anonymity.
A study published in Al-Watan newspaper said Tuesday if the war in Syria suddenly stopped and reconstruction began today, around $73 billion would be needed to put the country back on track.
Quoting Syrian real estate expert Ammar Yussef, the report said bombings, fighting and sabotage of infrastructure during the conflict had partially or completely destroyed 1.5 million dwellings.
Meanwhile, India’s foreign ministry said Tuesday that British Prime Minister David Cameron mistakenly named India among countries which had concluded that Syrian regime forces were behind a chemical attack near Damascus.
New Delhi took note of the lapse during Cameron’s August 29 speech to lawmakers in London, in which he called for Britain to join military action against Syria after the attack near Damascus.
Meanwhile, pro-Syrian regime hackers posted messages on a US Marine Corps recruiting website on Monday, urging troops to defy orders from President Barack Obama.
The hackers showed photos of people in American uniforms holding hand-written signs saying they would not fight for Al-Qaeda in Syria.
“Obama is a traitor who wants to put your lives in danger to rescue al-Qaeda insurgents,” the message read, according to a screenshot from The Wall Street Journal.
The US Marine Corps confirmed the intrusion but said the affected site, Marines.com, the official recruitment portal for the Corps, was back to normal.