TRIPOLI, Lebanon (Reuters) – The number of Syrian refugees who have fled to Lebanon officially topped 1 million on Thursday, highlighting the growing humanitarian catastrophe caused by Syria’s civil war and the huge burden placed on its poorly prepared neighbors.
The United Nations refugee agency UNHCR marked what it called a devastating milestone by formally registering a 18-year-old student from the city of Homs as the millionth refugee at a ceremony in Lebanon’s Mediterranean city of Tripoli.
After three years of conflict sparked by protests against President Bashar al-Assad’s autocratic rule, Syria’s war has caused one of the greatest upheavals seen in the Middle East – and one which shows no sign of abating.
