Syria: one million refugees

With more than one million Syrians now taking refuge in neighbouring countries, we are scaling up our response to the crisis.

Please donate to our Syria Crisis appeal>>

According to the United Nations, more than one million Syrians refugees have now fled into neighbouring countries to escape fighting. A staggering 220,000 people – 1% of Syria’s population – fled the country in February alone, and more than 5,000 are crossing the borders every single day.

The people of Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan have shown great compassion in welcoming the refugees into their towns and their homes, but the sheer number of new arrivals is putting an enormous strain on already overstretched resources.

CAFOD’s Mike Noyes said: "This is a humanitarian tradegy unfolding before our eyes. Our local church partners are doing all that they can under very difficult circumstances to show the Syrian people that they are not forgotten and to give them direct help.

"Thanks to the compassion of our supporters, we are increasing our support for Caritas Lebanon to make sure they can reach the most vulnerable people who cross over the border into Lebanon. We are committed to scaling up our work in Lebanon and Turkey further over the coming days.

"We are also supporting a range of church partners in Syria itself, where conditions in many areas continue to be dire. Our thoughts and prayers are with our partners - the priests, volunteers and aid workers who are often risking their lives to make sure the aid gets through."

Please donate to our Syria Crisis appeal>>