Geneva, July 21 (Xinhua-ANI): Up to 30,000 Syrian refugees may have crossed into Lebanon over the past 48 hours, the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Friday.
"So far reports vary between 8,500 and 30,000 people who may have crossed in the last 48 hours," Melissa Fleming, chief spokesperson of UNHCR said.
In all, 120,000 Syrian refugees fleeing the conflict had sought protection in Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon and Turkey as of Wednesday, UNHCR said, though the number estimated by these governments is much higher.
Apart from the Syrian refugees in the surrounding region, it was estimated that one million people may have been forced to flee across the country due to the escalation of violence.
UNHCR also expressed concern over civilians, including a large number of Iraqi refugees residing in Damascus since they were increasingly caught up in the violence there. (Xinhua-ANI)
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