UN: number of Syrian refugees in Lebanon surpasses 1 million

PanARMENIAN.Net - The number of refugees who have fled Syria and registered in Lebanon has surpassed the "devastating milestone" of one million, the UN said, according to BBC News.

Lebanon now has "the highest per capita concentration of refugees worldwide", said the head of the UN refugee agency.

"For Lebanon, a small nation beset by internal difficulties, the impact is staggering," he added.

About 9.5 million people, almost half of Syria's population, have fled their homes since the start of the conflict. More than 2.5 million have fled the country, with large numbers being taken in by Turkey, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt and others.

However Lebanon is bearing the biggest burden of all - with one in four people there a Syrian refugee.

The BBC says the real number of Syrians in Lebanon - including those who have not been registered as refugees - is already well past the million mark.

Lebanon is the smallest and most vulnerable of Syria's neighbors. Last month its foreign minister said the crisis was "threatening the existence" of his country.

International aid agencies are also struggling to cope with the flow of refugees. The UN has only received 14% of the funding it has asked for.

The hardships many refugees are facing was dramatically highlighted last week when a mother with a sick husband and four children set fire to herself in protest at not receiving help. She was critically injured.

The civil war in Syria has also fuelled sectarian tensions in Lebanon, which has a large Sunni and Shia Muslim population.

Hundreds of people in Beirut and other parts of the country have been killed in clashes between opponents and supporters of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.