Syrian refugee total now over 1.5m
18 May BBC
The UN's refugee agency has said that more than 1.5 million people
have fled the conflict in Syria. Most have fled to Jordan and Lebanon,
but not have all been registered yet, meaning the true total is likely
to be far higher, according to the UNHCR. The situation inside Syria has
deteriorated dramatically over the past four months, according to the
agency.
The UN estimates that 80,000 people have died in the uprising against
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.It says some 4.25 million have been
displaced within the country.ÓRefugees tell us the increased fighting
and changing of control of towns and villages, in particular in conflict
areas, results in more and more civilians deciding to leave,” UNHCR said
in a statement.
The UNHCR says it has registered a million refugees since the
beginning of this year alone, and that “the widening gap between the
needs and resources available is a growing challenge”.Early next month,
UNHCR and non-governmental organisations are due to launch a “revised
funding appeal” for the Syrian crisis.Last month, children's charity
Unicef said it would have to scale back “life-saving” support in
Jordan's Zaatari camp if more money was not forthcoming.
Meanwhile, US media reported that Russia had sent sophisticated
anti-ship missiles to Syria.The New York Times quoted unnamed US
officials as saying missiles sent by Russia to Syria could be used to
counter any potential future foreign military intervention.Top US
military commander Gen Martin Dempsey said supplying the missiles was
“an unfortunate decision”.The shipment “will embolden the regime and
prolong the suffering,” said Gen Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs
of Staff.Without confirming details, Russia's foreign minister said
Russian supplies did not break any international rules.It comes amid
growing alarm that chemical weapons may be being used in Syria,
something US President Barack Obama has said would be “a red line”.
Russia is one of Syria's few remaining allies and its major arms
suppliers.
Over the years, in contracts worth billions of dollars, it has sold
thousands of tanks, artillery units, aircraft, helicopters and defence
systems to Damascus.Another US newspaper, the Wall Street Journal,
reports that Moscow has deployed at least a dozen warships to patrol
waters near the Russian naval base in the Syrian city of Tartus.It
quotes a senior US defence official as saying the deployment is a “show
of force” by Moscow to demonstrate its commitment to the region.Although
there have been growing calls for arms to be channelled to the rebel
fighters in Syria, there has so far been very limited enthusiasm in the
West for outright military intervention.But there is concern that the
presence of sophisticated Russian-supplied weaponry will make it much
harder to agree and carry out such intervention, implement a blockade or
conduct targeted airstrikes in the future.Israel is also concerned such
weapons could fall into the hands of Lebanese militant group Hezbollah,
which could use them to either attack Israel or defend itself against
any Israeli assault.
In other developments on Friday:The campaign group Human Rights Watch
said in a report that abandoned government security installations in the
city of Raqqa contain evidence indicating arbitrary detention and
torture was practiced there when it was under government control
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon met Mr Lavrov in Sochi on Friday to
discuss the plans for an international conference to try to find a way
of ending the Syrian conflict, which would aim to bring together the
Syrian opposition and members of President Bashar al-Assad's government
The man in charge of the UN's plans for reconstruction in Syria after
the conflict, Abdullah al-Dardari, has told the BBC that he estimated
$60-80bn (£40-50bn) would be needed to rebuild what has been destroyed
so far and to compensate for damage to the economy.
|
