U.N. Appeals For $1.5 Billion In Aid For Syrian Refugees

U.N. Announces $1.5 Billion Aid Effort For Syrian Refugees -- CNN

(CNN) -- The United Nations has launched humanitarian plans worth $1.5 billion to help ease the suffering of millions of Syrians both inside and outside the country.

More than 525,000 Syrians have already crossed into neighboring countries, the United Nations announced Wednesday, and it estimated that more than a million will flee in the next six months.

The body believes that a quarter of Syria's population needs food, shelter, medical attention, hygiene materials, clothes and other relief after enduring nearly two years of war.

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More News On Syria's Growing Refugee Crisis

U.N. Seeks New Aid for Syria Crisis and Predicts 1 Million Refugees by Mid-2013 -- New York Times
U.N. seeks record $1.5B in aid for Syrians -- UPI
Syrian crisis triggers massive UN aid appeal -- The Guardian
U.N. seeks $1.5 billion to help suffering Syrians -- Reuters
Syria crisis: UN appeals for $1.5bn humanitarian aid -- BBC
U.N. seeks $1.5 billion to help Syria residents and refugees -- L.A. Times
UN requests 1.1 billion euros aid for Syria refugees -- Euronews

My Comment: Too little .... too late. This is something that should have been done months ago.

Syrian Refugees Continue To Pour Into Turkey

Turkey's Refugee Camps Full To Capacity With Syrians Fleeing Bloodshed -- The Telegraph

Turkey's refugee camps are full to capacity with 100,000 fugitives from Syria's bloodshed, the country's government said, suggesting there is no room for thousands more trying to reach safety.

They will have to wait until two new camps, designed to house another 30,000 refugees, have been completed. But about 10,000 people have already gathered at two makeshift camps inside northern Syria, waiting for permission to enter Turkey.

Conditions in these locations are steadily worsening as winter approaches. They are also vulnerable to attack by President Bashar al-Assad's forces, which routinely bombard the area near the Turkish border.

Turkey has replaced its "open door" policy for Syrian refugees with a more restrictive approach, admitting people who need urgent hospital treatment but compelling others to wait until space is available inside established camps.

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My Comment: And winter has not even arrived .... my prediction .... even with Turkey restricting who can enter the country .... I expect these refugee numbers to double by mid-winter. For more info on what is the `human` cost from Syria`s civil war, go here.

Syria's Growing Refugee Crisis

Residents at Zataari refugee camp in Jordan line up outside the UN warehouse for toiletries and basic supplies. The white tents are now a distinctive shade of pink because of the desert storms. (Derek Stoffel/CBC)

UN: Syria Pushes Global Refugee Count Toward 21st-Century Record -- NBC/Reuters

GENEVA -- With tens of thousands fleeing Syria every month, the number of refugees worldwide in 2012 is set to be the highest this century, according to a senior United Nations official.

Antonio Guterres, the body's High Commissioner for Refugees, told his UNHCR agency's executive committee Monday that its ability to cope was being stretched to the limit.

"Already in 2011, as crisis after crisis unfolded, more than 800,000 people crossed borders in search of refuge -- an average of more than 2,000 refugees every day," the former Portuguese prime minister said.

That total had been the highest since the turn of the century "and so far this year more than 700,000 people have fled from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali, Sudan and Syria", Guterres said.

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More News On Syria's Growing Refugee Crisis

Registered Syrian refugees in surrounding states triple in three months - UNHCR -- Alertnet/Reuters
Syrian refugee numbers 'have tripled since June' -- AFP
Syrian refugees in neighboring countries triple in three months -- Xinhuanet
Sand-whipped desert camps overflowing with Syrian refugees -- CBC
Riots erupt anew in refugee camp for Syrians in Jordan -- McClachy News/DPA
Most Jordanians say no to more Syrian refugees -- Christian Science Monitor

The Arab And Afghan Exodus To Europe Continues

Italian policemen stand guard as migrants wait to leave the Italian island of Lampedusa after thousands fled to the island

The Arab Exodus: Two Million People Fled Into Europe Because Of The Spring Rebellions -- Daily Mail

Asylum seekers from Arab Spring countries and West African nations suffering civil strife surged into Europe last year new figures have revealed.

The Brookings Institution, a Washington-based think tank, said almost two million people have left their homes over the last year as a result of the impact of the Arab Spring across North Africa and the Middle East.

Europe's largest group of migrants for a third consecutive year was from Afghanistan.

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My Comment: I expect the Afghanistan refugee flood to continue .... if not accelerating as U.S./UN forces prepare to leave that country.

Italy Now Facing An Immigration Emergency

Italy Facing Immigration Emergency -- Stars And Stripes

ROME (AP) -- Italy is facing a humanitarian and sanitation crisis on the tiny island of Lampedusa following the arrival of some 15,000 Tunisian boat people amid fears more migrants will flee there following coalition airstrikes on Libya.

Lampedusa is currently housing some 4,800 Tunisians, almost doubling the island's population of 5,000 and putting a severe strain on its immigrant holding center which has a capacity of just 850.

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More News On Italy's Immigration Emergency

Italy's Lampedusa island hit by migrant crisis -- BBC
Italian island facing crisis, UN says -- Toronto Star
Lampedusa migrant numbers prompt UN crisis warning -- The Guardian
Italy demands Europe share burden of N.Africa exodus -- Reuters
New Migrant Arrivals on Lampedusa Lead to Massive Overcrowding -- Relief Web
Tunisian reaps profit from illegal migrants -- AFP

My Comment: And this is just the first wave.