TURKEY: The office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees says the number of people escaping the violence in Syria and seeking refuge in Turkey will rise to 1.5 million in 2014

Record ID: 274469

  • Title: TURKEY: The office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees says the number of people escaping the violence in Syria and seeking refuge in Turkey will rise to 1.5 million in 2014
  • Date: 16th December 2013
  • Summary: KILIS, TURKEY (DECEMBER 24, 2012) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF CONTAINER CITY
  • Embargoed: 31st December 2013 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Turkey
  • Country: Turkey
  • Topics: International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVACPDSCC6MSTVKKPGMYXTQZJRTJ
  • Story Text: The United Nations refugee agency launched on Monday (December 16) an appeal for funds to help Syrians who have escaped the conflict at home to seek shelter in neighbouring Turkey.
    United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) representative in Turkey Carol Batchelor said the body recceived nearly two-thirds of the funds it had sought for 2013 to help Syrians.

    "Sixty-nine percent of the funds requested were provided. Unfortunately in the case of Turkey it was only 37%. So I would like, as we launch our national plan in Turkey, to highlight the importance of supporting and assisting Turkey in the very admirable position they have taken to ensure the protection of refugees," Batchelor told a news conference in Ankara.
    More than 100,000 people have been killed in Syrian civil war that has uprooted millions of people, devastated many cities and wreaked havoc on the economy and basic public services.
    Syria's currency has plummeted by 80 percent since the revolt began in March 2011, and destruction of the water network has left 10 million people - almost half the pre-war population - relying on the United Nations to chlorinate water.
    In Geneva, U.N. emergency relief coordinator Valerie Amos announced an appeal for a a record $6.5 billion for Syria and its neighbours to help 16 million people.
    The money requested for Syria, covering food, drinking water, shelter, education, health services and polio vaccines, was the largest U.N. appeal ever for a single crisis.
    Batchelor said the agency needed more support as Syrians face a bitter winter.

    "We are in the process of providing 52,000 electric heaters, 150,000 sets of winter clothing, 240,000 blankets, 4,000 stoves," she said.
    The president of Turkish disaster management agency, Fuat Oktay said the UNHCR expected the number of Syrians in Turkey to top 1.5 million by the end of next year.
    The U.N. is seeking $2.3 billion to help 9.3 million people in Syria next year. For five neighbouring countries - Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey - it is seeking $4.2 billion to assist up to 4.1 million Syrian refugees and host communities who will be given food aid, including cash or vouchers.
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