Number of Syrian refugees in Turkey passes 900,000

GAZİANTEP – Anadolu Agency

Syrian refugee girl makes her way to the school at a refugee camp in Nizip in Gaziantep province, near the Turkish-Syrian border March 17, 2014. REUTERS Photo

The number of Syrian refugees that have taken shelter in Turkey has passed 900,000, according to the Prime Ministry’s Disaster and Emergency Management Directorate (AFAD).

Fuat Oktay, the president of the agency, said yesterday that everything is fine with regard to the refugee camps, but the agency is focusing on meeting the needs of refugees living outside of the camps and minimizing their problems. In order to do so, they are coordinating with civil society organizations. The number of refugees living inside the camps is 224,000.

Oktay said most of the refugees who fled the civil war have been living in border provinces. “International aid has totaled $200 million and so far the agency has spent $2.5 billion,” Oktay said, calling on the international community to share the burden.

“These people have basic needs such as education, health, nutrition and shelter, but it is not sustainable for Turkey to handle by itself. I am calling on the international community to help us in aiding these people,” Oktay said.

According to figures, some 9.3 million Syrians, almost half of the population, need help. Some 2.4 million of those people fled the country during the three-year civil war.