MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Chile is preparing to host a "large number" of refugees, as the world is struggling with a global migrant crisis, President Michelle Bachelet said in a statement.
"As a government we are working to host a large number of refugees because we understand the tragedy that is being experienced, it is a tragedy for all humanity," Bachelet said during a ceremony on Monday, as quoted by El Comercio portal.
According to the media outlet, the president did not specify the exact number of refugees Chile would be accepting.
According to UN estimates, some 7.6 million people have been internally displaced in Syria and another 4 million are living as refugees outside the country as a result of the four-year-long civil war between the government and opposition forces.
Earlier in the day, several other Latin American leaders, such as Brazil’s Dilma Rousseff and Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro, pledged to take in Syrian refugees.