Map: Syria - a regional crisis

Every day thousands more Syrians pour into neighboring countries to escape the terrifying violence and 

unbearable hardship at home. Many risk their lives to do so—taking precarious multi-day treks through combat zones, often at night, to avoid detection. Refugees describe being shot at on the way and, in a number of cases, being robbed, sexually assaulted or forcibly separated from family members at checkpoints. They are threatened by aerial bombardments, which do not discriminate between military and civilian vehicles. Those caught fleeing also run the risk of being arrested. and once arrested in Syria, they may not be seen again.

 

In spite of the punishing journey, a fluctuating but constant flow of refugees has streamed into Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey for more than a year. However, the last four months of 2012 saw a dramatic spike, with some 3,000 Syrians fleeing daily into these countries—already stretched beyond capacity. By the beginning of January, the U.N. put the total number of Syrian refugees at over 600,000, noting the true number is likely higher since many refugees do not register.

 

A grim irony which few would have anticipated is that Iraq and Syria have reversed their prior roles as states of refuge. A half-decade ago, the flood of refugees was heading west from Iraq to Syria, as well as to Lebanon and Jordan. Today, the flow is in the other direction, with Iraq now hosting more than 60,000 Syrian refugees and counting. In addition, over the past six months nearly 60,000 war-weary Iraqi refugees who sought refuge in Syria have returned to an uncertain fate inside Iraq. Many are from central Iraq and cannot go back to their communities of origin because of ongoing strife or occupation of their homes.

 

The Syrian refugee population is also expanding beyond the primary host countries of Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon and Iraq to North Africa—as Egypt and Morocco become the latest countries to take in Syrian refugees.