The UN's refugee agency says the civilian exodus from war-torn Syria since 2011 has reached one million - three months earlier than anticipated. It says neighboring host nations are severely strained.
Image: picture alliance / dpa
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The UNHCR said the 1 million comprised both registered refugees and those awaiting registration, and that more than 400,000 Syrians - nearly half the total figure - have fled since January 1. The agency based its count on fresh data from its offices in the region.
"With a million people in flight, millions more displaced internally and thousands of people continuing to cross the border every day, Syria is spiraling towards full-scale disaster," UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres said in a statement.
"We are doing everything we can to help, but the international humanitarian response capacity is dangerously stretched. This tragedy has to be stopped."
Syrian refugees in Turkey
The UN's refugee agency says the civilian exodus from war-torn Syria since 2011 has reached one million. Neighboring host nations are severely strained. DW's Dalia Mortada has been to the camp in Kilis, Turkey.
Image: DW/D. Mortada
New routines in the Camp of Hope
Women and young children spend their afternoons together in this refugee camp in Kilis, Turkey. Since kids under the age of 11 have school in the morning while their older siblings go to school in the afternoon, young children spend their time after lunch playing or helping their parents. One day they hope to return to Syria and their routines of full school days.
Image: DW/D. Mortada
Rude awakening
Five-year-old Salsabeel has a tough time adjusting to life in Kilis camp. At night, the sounds of explosions just the other side of the camp's wall startle her out of her sleep. Her mother, Randa, says she often cries at school because she gets scared, and she is usually attached to her father's hip.
Image: DW/D. Mortada
Rebel yell
A young girl stands on the back of a pick-up truck yelling revolutionary chants to a crowd of kids. They repeat slogans like, "To heaven we will go as martyrs by the millions, to hell they will go the shabiha by the millions," "Leave, leave Bashar, curse you, Bashar," and “Free, free, freedom, the people want freedom."
Image: DW/D. Mortada
Sign of the times
Children spend half their days in classes and half their days playing outside or in their containers. Many of the Kilis camp residents came from tent camps in other parts of southern Turkey in March of last year. For many of the children, it has been nearly two years since they left their homes.
Image: DW/D. Mortada
Short back and sides
Mohammed is 15 years old. He uses his expertise in haircuts and beard trims in a barbershop he set up inside the camp. The shop is built of iron rods and cardboard and he uses an electric razor and other tools he brought with him from his hometown. He charges one to two Turkish liras for a haircut.
Image: DW/D. Mortada
Art therapy
Amr, 8, drew a picture relaying what he saw on TV. On January 15, 87 people died in twin bombings at Aleppo University and dozens were injured. Amr's teacher, Dima, said he saw the image of a young man missing an arm on TV. He decided to draw that image for his picture of war-torn Syria.
Image: DW/D. Mortada
Money socks
In the cold of winter, adults and children alike sell small items in the camp for some pocket change. These girls are selling socks for 2TL a pair in the center of the camp. With the money, they can buy chocolates or other goods from another stand nearby, or use the cash to buy goods from outside the camp.
Image: DW/D. Mortada
Back to basics
A freshly washed reusable diaper hangs to dry on a clothesline outside a container home. At the camp, a pack of 40 disposable diapers sells for 16TL, which is often beyond budget for many camp residents. To help ease the burden, some families use reusable diapers for their young children.
Image: DW/D. Mortada
Sticking together
Zeineb, 12 (third from right), her siblings and her cousins all fled from Jisr Al Shughur together more than a year ago. Now, they live as neighbors at Kilis camp and spend their days in school or playing together. Zeineb says she wants to be a teacher someday, while her brother, Mohammed, 11, wants to be a doctor.
Image: DW/D. Mortada
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Guterres said that most Syrians had gone to Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt.
Strained to the limit
Jordan hosts more than 400,000 refugees, Lebanon has more than 300,000 Syrians, and the count in Turkey is 185,000. Guterres noted that Lebanon's population had risen 10 percent as a result of the influx, and that Turkey had spent over $600 million (460 million euros) on refugee camps.
He said that the countries were stretched to the limit trying to keep up with the increasing arrivals and should be "massively supported" by other governments. However, despite pledges of $1.5 billion by international donors, only 25 percent has been funded.
About half of the refugees are children, most of them younger than 11, according to UNHCR.
The UN recently estimated that 70,000 people have been killed in Syria's civil war.
