Syria refugee numbers cross 1.5 million as funding gaps remain

The number of Syrian refugees who have now left their country has surpassed 1.5 million. The Syrian conflict continues to have a devastating impact on the lives of those who are forced to flee.

The fact that more than 1.5 million people have registered or have appointments with UNHCR sadly means the actual number is much higher. This is due to the concerns that some Syrians have regarding registration.

The increasingly widening gap between the needs and resources available is a growing challenge. UNHCR has registered close to one million refugees since 1 January this year – this is about a quarter of a million people each month.

According to refugees 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. Over the past four months we have seen a rapid deterioration when compared to the previous 20 months of this conflict.

UNHCR continues to respond to the emergency needs of those in desperate need inside Syria and in neighbouring countries.

Syria 
On the outskirts of Tartous inside Syria, UNHCR continued this week to follow up on the needs and situation of several hundred families displaced in the village of Zamarin.

They fled Banias district in Lattakia Governorate where clashes erupted in early May. Some families found shelter in a mosque and local schools, but the majority have been hosted by families in Zamarin.

These families received UNHCR emergency relief assistance last week. Follow-up of the situation with partners in Zamarin show that many families have returned to Banias, where children have to take their exams very soon.

This assistance was part of a collaborative UN inter-agency effort. UNHCR aid benefitted 3,000 people and was distributed between the  4th to 11th May by partners. The items included blankets, mattresses, hygiene kits, children’s diapers and sanitary napkins.

UNHCR has been present in Tartous since early April and is permanently present in five cities – the others are Damascus, Aleppo, Hassakeh and Homs.

Overall in Syria UNHCR’s relief assistance (non-food items only) has reached 860,000 displaced Syrians since the beginning of the year.

Lebanon 
UNHCR's registration operation in Lebanon is one of the largest and most complex urban registration programmes in the world. In Lebanon, UNHCR has now stepped up its capacity to register refugees.

Every day over 4,200 people approach UNHCR's offices for registration. In April, over 90,000 refugees were registered in UNHCR centres. This is more than a ten-fold increase when compared to the same month in 2012.

Waiting periods for registration have also decreased with an average waiting time of between 16-30 days throughout the country, apart from the south where the registration centre has just become operational. But there too, each week the waiting period for refugees is decreasing.

The UNHCR Lebanon office is also reducing the backlog by over 8,000 individuals per week.

UNHCR has opened new registration centres, is using enhanced registration mechanisms, ensuring that individual protection interviews still take place, providing transportation assistance to refugees, aswell as expanding the number of shifts we operate.

Latest regional figures:

REGIONAL number of Syrians registered and pending registration: 1,515,639

JORDAN as of 15 May 
Number of Syrians registered and pending registration with UNHCR: 473,587 
Registered / Pending registration: 390,371 / 83,216 

LEBANON as of 15 May
Number of Syrians registered and pending registration with UNHCR: 470,457 
Registered / Pending registration: 375,624  / 94,833 

TURKEY based on Government of Turkey figures as of 15 May                    
Total number of Syrians registered in camps and in urban areas and Syrians awaiting registration in urban areas: 347,157 
Registered / Pending registration: 316,772  / 30,385 

IRAQ as of 15 May
Number of Syrians registered with UNHCR: 147,464 

EGYPT as of 14 May
Number of Syrians registered and pending registration with UNHCR: 66,922 
Registered / Pending registration: 48,429 / 18,493 

North Africa as of 15 April
Number of Syrians registered with UNHCR: 10,052                                                                                                                                         

Photo: Syrian families continue to flee across borders. This photograph was taken at the Jordan border. © UNHCR/J.Kohler