230,000 people have fled Syria: UN

Geneva: The UN refugee agency says 230,000
Syrians have fled their homes since the outbreak of violence
last year.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees` coordinator for
Syria says 30,000 people have already fled to Turkey, Lebanon
and Jordan and "on a daily basis hundreds of people are still
crossing into neighbouring countries."

Panos Moumtzis told reporters in Geneva today that
according to the Syrian Arab Red Crescent at least 200,000
people are also displaced within the country.

He says some 110,000 mostly Iraqi refugees living in
Syria are meanwhile reporting increased hardship due to rising
prices for basic goods.

Moumtzis says prices for imported goods have
"skyrocketed" because of the devaluation of the Syrian pound.

Bureau Report