UNHCR: Number of Syrian refugees tops 5 million mark
GENEVA — The number of Syrians who have fled their country after six years of civil war has surpassed the 5-million mark, the U.N. refugee agency said on Thursday.
UNHCR announced the milestone a year after participating countries at a Geneva conference pledged to “resettle and facilitate pathways for 500,000 refugees” from Syria — but only half of those places have been allocated so far.
Meanwhile, the war in Syria is not letting up.
A Syrian doctor in a rebel-held area in the central province of Hama said government airstrikes were suspected of using toxic gas on Thursday on civilians and opposition fighters in the town of Latamneh.