Damascus: The number of Syrians displaced domestically has risen from one million in March 2012 to 2.5 million in August, the Lebanese National News Agency (NNA) reported on Friday, quoting a UN official.
There are now thousands of refugees that have taken shelter in Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq and Jordan, the NNA quoted Valerie Amos, UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, as saying.
Amos has talked on Thursday with some Lebanese officials and UN representatives in Lebanon on the situation of the Syrian displaced and the outcomes of her recent visit to Damascus.
She told reporters following the meeting that the Syrian authorities have accepted the participation of eight international humanitarian organisations in the aid operations and assisting the UN refugee agency, but have refused to grant permission to some NGOs to enter Syria to assist in the aid program.
She noted that her visit to Syria mainly dwelled on urging officials to grant the Syrian people better concern as "the crisis and the increasing violence against civilians were widely affecting them”.
Amos also thanked Lebanon for keeping the borders open for the displaced.
ANI
