UN sees up to 700,000 Syrian refugees by year-end

Aid agencies have upped their call for funds to cope with the refugee crisis (AFP, Adem Altan)


GENEVA — The UN refugee agency warned Thursday there could be as many as 700,000 Syrian refugees fleeing the war-torn nation by the end of the year as it stepped up its call for emergency funding.
"There may be up to 700,000 Syrian refugees in neighbouring countries by the end of the year," Panos Moumtzsis, the UNHCR's chief coordinator for Syrian refugees, told reporters in Geneva.
"We are running out of time," he added.
Faced with the soaring need for aid after 18 months of brutal conflict in Syria, humanitarian agencies upped their call for funds to $487.9 million (379.2 million euros) to sustain operations until the end of the year.
In June, when the UNHCR first updated its regional response plan, it made plans for 185,000 refugees. Since then the number has tripled, the agency said, with 100,000 people fleeing Syria in August and 60,000 so far in September.

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