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! Regions with significant populations:
! Regions with significant populations:
| {{flagicon|JOR}} [[Jordan]] - 80,000 estimated (Mar. 12')<ref name=news24/>; 5-8,000 registered (Mar. 12')<ref name=news24/><br/>
| {{flagicon|JOR}} [[Jordan]] - 80,000 estimated (Mar. 12')<ref name=news24/>; 5-8,000 registered (Mar. 12')<ref name=news24/><br/>
{{flagicon|LIB}} [[Lebanon]] - 20-25,000 estimated; 7,000+ registered (Mar. 12')<br/>
{{flagicon|LIB}} [[Lebanon]] - 20-25,000 estimated; 8,594 registered (Apr. 12')<br/>
{{flagicon|TUR}} [[Turkey]] - 23,865 registered (06 Apr. 12')<ref name=aa0604/><br/>
{{flagicon|TUR}} [[Turkey]] - 23,865 registered (06 Apr. 12')<ref name=aa0604/><br/>
{{flagicon|Libya}} [[Libya]] - 6,000 (20 Dec. 11')<ref name=aljazeera1912/><br/>
{{flagicon|Libya}} [[Libya]] - 6,000 (20 Dec. 11')<ref name=aljazeera1912/><br/>
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In early 2012, the numbers of Syrian refugees swelled to some 20,000 registered by UN in Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan, with possibly 10,000 more being unregistered. Following the February fighting in Homs and the escalating assault of Syrian troops on towns and villages near Lebanese border on early March, a large scale refugee influx into Lebanon was reported on March 04, 2012. The exact number of moving Syrian refegees was not clear, but was described around 2,000.<ref>[http://www.iwradio.co.uk/news/world/un-2000-syrian-refugees-flee-to-lebanon-16181968/]</ref> The attack in Idlib resulted in swell of Syrian refugees to Turkey as well, where their numbers reached 14,700 by March 18.<ref name=aj1803>[http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/03/17/201318.html]</ref>
In early 2012, the numbers of Syrian refugees swelled to some 20,000 registered by UN in Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan, with possibly 10,000 more being unregistered. Following the February fighting in Homs and the escalating assault of Syrian troops on towns and villages near Lebanese border on early March, a large scale refugee influx into Lebanon was reported on March 04, 2012. The exact number of moving Syrian refegees was not clear, but was described around 2,000.<ref>[http://www.iwradio.co.uk/news/world/un-2000-syrian-refugees-flee-to-lebanon-16181968/]</ref> The attack in Idlib resulted in swell of Syrian refugees to Turkey as well, where their numbers reached 14,700 by March 18.<ref name=aj1803>[http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/03/17/201318.html]</ref>


In April 2012 offensive by the Syrian Army, which preceded the expected cease fire on April 10th by [[Kofi Annan peace plan for Syria|Kofi Annan peace plan]], the flow of refugees to Turkey reached its peak, with as many as 2,300 on April 4 and 2,800 on April 5, pushing into Turkey's border areas.<ref name=aa0604>[http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/06/syria-turkey-border-idUSL6E8F60LY20120406]</ref> The number of Syrian refugees in Turkey reached 23,835 on April 6.<ref name=aa0604/> In Ankara, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu demanded Assad keep his promise to cease military operations, while demanding action by the international community and the UN, if more refugees come.<ref name=aa0604/> The total official UN numbers of Syrian refugees reached 42,000 at the time,<ref name=bbc0604>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-17635434]</ref> while unofficial number stood at as many as 120,000.
In April 2012 offensive by the Syrian Army, which preceded the expected cease fire on April 10th by [[Kofi Annan peace plan for Syria|Kofi Annan peace plan]], the flow of refugees to Turkey reached its peak, with as many as 2,300 on April 4 and 2,800 on April 5, pushing into Turkey's border areas.<ref name=aa0604>[http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/06/syria-turkey-border-idUSL6E8F60LY20120406]</ref> The number of Syrian refugees in Turkey reached 23,835 on April 6.<ref name=aa0604/> In Ankara, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu demanded Assad keep his promise to cease military operations, while demanding action by the international community and the UN, if more refugees come.<ref name=aa0604/> There were 8,594 Syrian refugees reported to reach Lebanon, with most of them at the Bekaa Valley.<ref name=kuna0604>[http://www.kuna.net.kw/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=2232121&Language=en]</ref> The total official UN numbers of Syrian refugees reached 42,000 at the time,<ref name=bbc0604>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-17635434]</ref> while unofficial number stood at as many as 120,000.


==Timeline==
==Timeline==
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* Jordan - began construction of a 30,000 sq. m. refugee camp on March 2012.
* Jordan - began construction of a 30,000 sq. m. refugee camp on March 2012.

* UNHCR - provided mattrasses, kerosene heaters and jerry can to Syrian refugees in Lebanon and Iraq on April 12'.<ref name=kane0604/>

* The Internation Organization for Migration (IOM) - provided water filters, rechargable lights, stoves, blankets and pillows in Lebanon and Iraq.<ref name=kane0604/>


===Future plans===
===Future plans===

Revision as of 15:49, 6 April 2012

Refugees of the 2011–2012 Syrian uprising
Total population today: Total of 42,000[1]-120,000 (Apr. 12')
Regions with significant populations: Jordan Jordan - 80,000 estimated (Mar. 12')[2]; 5-8,000 registered (Mar. 12')[2]

Lebanon Lebanon - 20-25,000 estimated; 8,594 registered (Apr. 12')
Turkey Turkey - 23,865 registered (06 Apr. 12')[3]
Libya Libya - 6,000 (20 Dec. 11')[4]
 Iraqi Kurdistan - 100-500 estimated (Mar. 12')

Language: Arabic, Kurdish
Religion: Sunni Islam

Refugees of the 2011–2012 Syrian uprising or Syrian refugees are Syrian nationals, who fled Syria with the escalation of the 2011–2012 Syrian uprising. Correct for April 2012, more than 42,000 Syrian refugees were registered outside Syrian borders,[1] mostly finding refuge in neighbouring Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey. Thousands more of Syrian refugees were most probably unrecorded.

The refugee problem has begun unfolding across Syrian borders on April 2011, intensifying with the siege of Talkalakh and the unrest in the Syrian province of Idlib. As a result, thousands of Syrian citizens fled across the border to Lebanon and Syria by summer 2011. By early July 2011, 15,000 Syrian citizens had taken shelter in tent cities, set up in the Yayladağı, Reyhanlı and Altınözü districts of Hatay province, near Turkey’s border with Syria,[5] with 5,000 of them already returning back to Syria by that time of their own volition.[5] The number of Syrian refugees in Lebanon had reached some 10,000 by late June. On July 12, Al-Jazeera reported that some Syrian refugees had found a sanctuary in Jordan,[6] with numbers reaching 1,500 by December.[7]

In early 2012, the numbers of Syrian refugees swelled to some 20,000 registered by UN in Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan, with possibly 10,000 more being unregistered. Following the February fighting in Homs and the escalating assault of Syrian troops on towns and villages near Lebanese border on early March, a large scale refugee influx into Lebanon was reported on March 04, 2012. The exact number of moving Syrian refegees was not clear, but was described around 2,000.[8] The attack in Idlib resulted in swell of Syrian refugees to Turkey as well, where their numbers reached 14,700 by March 18.[9]

In April 2012 offensive by the Syrian Army, which preceded the expected cease fire on April 10th by Kofi Annan peace plan, the flow of refugees to Turkey reached its peak, with as many as 2,300 on April 4 and 2,800 on April 5, pushing into Turkey's border areas.[3] The number of Syrian refugees in Turkey reached 23,835 on April 6.[3] In Ankara, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu demanded Assad keep his promise to cease military operations, while demanding action by the international community and the UN, if more refugees come.[3] There were 8,594 Syrian refugees reported to reach Lebanon, with most of them at the Bekaa Valley.[10] The total official UN numbers of Syrian refugees reached 42,000 at the time,[1] while unofficial number stood at as many as 120,000.

Timeline

2011

Early refugee influx

By May 3, 2011, the number of Syrian citizens, crossing the Turkish border was estimated at 300.[11] President of Turkey, Abdullah Gül, said that Turkey is preparing for “a worst case scenario,” in an apparent reference to a possible influx of large numbers of refugees from Syria.[11] He was referring to the fact that Turkey had already set up a small camp in southern Hatay province for 263 Syrians who fled their country on Friday, April 29.[11]

By mid May, some 700 of Tel Kalakh residents fled across the border, to the northern Lebanese village of Mkaybleh.[12] According to Sheikh Abdullah, a prominent religious figure in the village of Wadi Khaled in northern Lebanon, by May 13 the village had received more than 1,350 refugees from Syria over a period of 10 days, most of them women and children.[13] More were expected to arrive.

On May 14, Melissa Fleming, spokeswoman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, said that the refugee flow into Lebanon has been "very small" - about 1,000 people.[12] She also said the numbers of Syrians who have crossed the border into Turkey were also small, about 250.[12]

Disturbances in the Idlib province

With the siege of Jisr al-Shughour the situation on the Turkish-Syrian border deteriorated, as Jisr al-Shughour, home to 41,000 people, became a largely abandoned town, in expectation of Syrian Army attack.[14] Initially The Guardian reported that officials in southern Turkey said that about 2,500 Syrians, many from Jisr al-Shughour, had crossed the border.[14] However, the number of refugees, housed in refugee camps across the Turkish-Syrian border had exceeded 10,000 by mid June.[15][16][17] The number of Syrian refugees in Lebanon was estimated by human right associations at 8,500 on June 18,[18] with main concentrations in Akkar and Tripoli areas,[18] making the total number of Syrian refugees to surpass 20 thousand people.

As Syrian troops massed in front of the Turkish border, the flow rate further increased hundreds of refugees a day on June 23,[19] reaching a total of 11,700 Syrian citizens, housed in refugee camps across the Turkish border.[20] According to official numbers by early July, 15,228 Syrians had sought refuge in Turkey, as a result of tension caused by countrywide protests and a crackdown on protests by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s administration.[5] More than 5,000 of them had returned to Syria of their own volition, thus some 10,227 Syrian refugees had remained in Turkey.[5]

September

The numbers of registered Syrian refugees in Lebanon reached 2,600 on early September, with thousands more residing in Lebanon illegally.[21] According to UNHCR, some 120 Syrian refugees crossed into Lebanon on August 29th.[22] According to Al-Arabiya, some 2,500 Syrians resided in the Wadi Khaled area, down from 5,500 which were there in May.[23] Most of the Syrian refugees in the area were Arabs and Bedouins.[23] A humanitarian aid campaign was launched by "Baitulmaal" nicknamed the "Syrian Refugee Relief".[24]

In September 2011, the estimations for Syrian refugees in Lebanon rose to around 4,000 registered, with possibly as many as 6,000 in total residing there.[25] In December, the number of registered Syrian refugees had reached almost 5,000.[26]

Despite the return of many Syrians back to Syria through July and August, in early September Turkey began setting up six refugee camps for over Syrian refugees, who fled from Syria in June - some 6,000 out of initial 15,000 remaining in Turkey.[27]

November

On November, it was reported that the number of Syrian refugees in Turkey stands at 7,600.[28]

December

The number of Syrian refugees in Jordan was at 1,500 registered on mid-December 2011, with possibly thousands more being unregistered.[7]

By the end of 2011, it was reported that thousands of Syrian refugees had found shelter in Libya.[4] There were no futher documentations of those refugees.

2012

January

On January 14, 2012, it was announced by the UNHCR that the number of registered Syrian refugees in Lebanon has reached 5,238.[29] The registered refugees were almost 1,000 families.[29] Some 200 Syrians registered within a single week prior to the announcement.[29] 6,375 registered Syrian refugees were reported on late January, 2012.[30]

On January 2012, Israeli Chief of Staff announced on preparations of the Israeli Army to absorb Alawite Syrian refugees on the occupied Golan Heights, in case the Syrian government collapses.[31] The plans were said not to be concrete, but related to a hypothetical situation, if Syrian current rule is overthrown and the Alawites had to flee.

February

On early February 2012, Jordan announced to open a refugee camp on its territory for Syrian refugees fleeing escalating violence in their country.[32]

The number of Syrian refugees in Turkey was reported at 9,700 in February.[30] 3,000 registered Syrian refugees were reported on February, 2012.[30]

March

Following the February fighting in Homs and the escalating assault of Syrian troops on towns and villages near Lebanese border on early March, a large scale refugee influx into Lebanon was reported on March 04, 2012. The exact number of moving Syrian refegees was not clear, but was estimated around 2,000.[33]

Turkey also reported an increased refugee flow of "hundreds per day" on mid-March.[34] With the fresh influx, the number of U.N. registered Syrian refugees in Turkey's Hatay Province reached 13,000[35] to 13,500,[36] with possibly thousands more residing in other provinces.[37] Turkish officials near the Syrian border were reportedly expecting tens of thousands, perhaps as many as 50,000 of new arrivals in late March and have begun constructing tent cities in the southern provinces of Hatay, Kilis, Gaziantep and Şanlıurfa.[36] By March 18, the number of refugees in Turkey was reported at 14,700.[9]

In Jordan, as many as 80,000 Syrians were reported to arrive, relocating mostly to the area Ramtha and the northern city of Mafraq, according to Jordanian government spokesman Rakan Majali.[2] Rakan Majali also declared that a 30,000 sq.m. refugee camp in Jordan to host the Syrian refugees was under construction.[2] The UN refugee agency puts the number of registered Syrian refugees in Jordan at between 5,000 and 8,000, while Jordan has accepted around 5,000 Syrian students in state schools.[2]

The number of displaced Syrians was estimated by the U.N. at a total of 230,000, with 30,000 of them residing in Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan.[38]

Relief efforts

  • Turkey accomodated most of arrived Syrian refugees in tent cities in the Hatay province, constructed since summer 2011.
  • Jordan - began construction of a 30,000 sq. m. refugee camp on March 2012.
  • UNHCR - provided mattrasses, kerosene heaters and jerry can to Syrian refugees in Lebanon and Iraq on April 12'.[39]
  • The Internation Organization for Migration (IOM) - provided water filters, rechargable lights, stoves, blankets and pillows in Lebanon and Iraq.[39]

Future plans

  • Switzerland announced its consideration to accept Syrian refugees per U.N. request.[40]
  • Iraqi Kurdistan announced plans to construct a second refugee camp for Syrian nationals fleeing the violence in their country,[41] as the first refugee camp named "Qamishli", which was established following the 2004 Al-Qamishli riots, became overcrowded with refugees of the Syrian uprising.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c [1]
  2. ^ a b c d e [2]
  3. ^ a b c d [3]
  4. ^ a b [4]
  5. ^ a b c d [5]
  6. ^ [6]
  7. ^ a b [7]
  8. ^ [8]
  9. ^ a b [9]
  10. ^ [10]
  11. ^ a b c "Turkey preparing for large numbers of Syrian refugees". Ya Libnan. 2011-05-03. Retrieved 2011-07-07.
  12. ^ a b c "Witnesses: Soldiers shell Syrian border town amid refugee flight". CNN.com. 2011-05-14. Retrieved 2011-07-07.
  13. ^ Ghaddar, Hanin (2011-05-13). "Syria's refugees from terror". Foreign Policy: The Middle East Channel. Retrieved 2011-07-07.
  14. ^ a b Chulov, Martin (2011-06-09). "Syrian refugees in Turkey: 'People see the regime is lying. It is falling apart'". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 2011-07-07.
  15. ^ "'Nearly 10,000' Syrian refugees in Turkey". Yahoo! News. 2011-06-17. Retrieved 2011-07-07.
  16. ^ "'Nearly 10,000' Syrian refugees in Turkey". FRANCE 24. 2011-06-17. Retrieved 2011-07-07.
  17. ^ Erisa Dautaj Şenerdem (2011-06-19). "Turkey allows limited access to Syrian refugee camp". Hurriyet Daily News. Retrieved 2011-07-07.
  18. ^ a b Yalibnan, Syrian refugees in Lebanon report. 18 June 2011.
  19. ^ Yacoub, Khaled (2011-06-23). "Syrian troops near Turkey border, refugees flee". Reuters. Retrieved 2011-07-07.
  20. ^ "Syrian refugees continue to flock to Turkey". Israel News, Ynetnews. 2011-06-24. Retrieved 2011-07-07.
  21. ^ [11]
  22. ^ [12]
  23. ^ a b [13]
  24. ^ [14]
  25. ^ [15]
  26. ^ [16]
  27. ^ [17]
  28. ^ Stack, Liam (2011-11-14). "Refugees From Syria Settle in for Long Wait in Turkey". The New York Times.
  29. ^ a b c [18]
  30. ^ a b c "As Syria bleeds, neighbors brace for refugees". Reuters. 2012-02-10.
  31. ^ [19]
  32. ^ [20]
  33. ^ [21]
  34. ^ "Syrian refugees flood into Turkey". The Daily Telegraph. London. 2012-03-13.
  35. ^ "Syrian refugees flood into Turkey". The Daily Telegraph. London. 2012-03-13.
  36. ^ a b [22]
  37. ^ [23]
  38. ^ "UN says 230,000 people have fled Syria violence". CBS News.
  39. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference kane0604 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  40. ^ [24]
  41. ^ http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/iraq-approves-new-refugee-camp-for-syrians-fleeing-bloody-uprising-against-assad-regime/2012/03/14/gIQAIDc3BS_story.html. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help) [dead link]
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