MOSCOW, November 13 (Sputnik) — Neighboring countries are now taking in 88 percent fewer Syrian refugees than at a time when the civil war erupted in the country, a joint report by humanitarian organizations said on Thursday.
“On average, more than 150,000 Syrians were able to cross into neighboring countries each month in 2013. In October 2014, the number of new refugees registered by the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) had declined by 88 percent, to only 18,453,” Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council Jan Egeland was quoted as saying in the report published on the International Rescue Committee’s website.
According to the report, "No Escape", compiled by the IRC in collaboration with the Norwegian Refugee Council, the huge drop in the number of refugees is mainly due to the strained economies of neighboring Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan and Iraq.
"Syria's neighbors are increasingly unable to maintain the levels of hospitality they have provided to Syrian refugees since the conflict began,” President of the International Rescue Committee David Miliband was quoted as saying in the report.
The IRC president urged wealthier countries to join the efforts.
“It is a depressing failure of international solidarity, and should spur the world's wealthier countries into action," Miliband added.
According to the report, non-border countries have accepted only 50,000 refugees, which accounts for a mere 2 percent of the total number.
The Syrian civil war began in 2011 following a string of anti-government uprisings. Owing to the conflict, more than 9.6 million people fled their homes while about 200,000 have died, according to UN estimates.
