By Michel Cousins.
Tripoli 5 February 2103:
The number of refugees fleeing the violence in Syria continues to rise. According to the UNHCR office . . .[restrict]in Libya, there was an 18-percent increase in the number of Syrian refugees who registered with it between the end of December and the end of January. The figure now stands at 4,716 persons.
It is is much lower than the actual number of Syrians who have fled to Libya. Most have not registered with UNHCR. Officials in Misrata claim that there are 5,000 Syrians there alone. The Syrian community in the city puts the number at over 6,000.
In the country as a whole, according to Syrian community sources, there are now over 110,000 Syrian refugees.
The numbers are relatively small compared to Syrians fleeing to Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Turkey. At the end of last month, UNHCR said it had registered 171,000 registered refugees in Jordan, and there were a further 52,000 awaiting registration — with 85,000 refugees in one camp alone. In Lebanon, it said there were 159,000 who had registered and another 70,000 awaiting processing. In Turkey, there were 163,00 refugees in 15 camps.
But again, these are the registered refugees. The actual figure is believed to be much higher. The UN estimates there are 225,000 Syrian refugees in Lebanon altogether, and a similar number in Jordan. [/restrict]
