UN: 1.15 million Syrians are now refugeesMarch 20, 2013 - 09:30 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The United Nations high commissioner for refugees, Antonio Guterres, said that 1.15 million Syrians are now refugees in neighboring countries and 3.6 million people are internally displaced, Arabs Today reported. “The Syrian crisis is the most complex, the most dangerous, and with the worst humanitarian consequences of all the conflicts I’ve seen since I started eight years ago in this post,” he said in Washington, testifying to a U.S. Senate subcommittee. Guterres noted the “staggering escalation” from 33,000 refugees outside Syria in April 2012 to 500,000 in December. He announced March 6 that the refugee count had reached 1 million. The UN earlier this month estimated 2.5 million internally displaced Syrians before Guterres’ revision to 3.6 million. Syrians displaced in and out of the country now number nearly 5 million in a country of about 20 million people. “Each one of them is a human tragedy,” Guterres said. Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Lemkin Institute petition seeks release of Armenians in Azerbaijan The Lemkin Institute is deeply concerned about the continued illegal detention of political prisoners from Karabakh in Azerbaijan. Armenian Catholicos calls for national unity against threats Karekin II issued a message on Republic Day marking the anniversary of the First Armenian Republic. Pashinyan: Armenia’s desired goal is “on the horizon” Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said that Armenia is moving forward “without interruption”. Opposition leader, supporters spend night at Sardarapat memorial Police made nearly 300 arrests the day before as Galstanyan and his supporters continued to demonstrate in Yerevan. |