Crises in Libya, Sudan and elsewhere forced 800,000 to flee their countries in 2011: UN

Damascus, June 18 (ANI): Turmoil in Libya, Sudan, Somalia and other countries forced 800,000 people to flee their nation in 2011, the United Nations has claimed.

According to a report by the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, the total number of newly displaced people worldwide in 2011, including who fled their homes but not their countries, was 4.3 million.

The new figures are the highest number in 11 years, since it hit 822,000 in 2000.

According to Fox News, UNHCR said the latest figures point to worrying trends, including a consistently high number of displaced people over several years now.

The total has exceeded 42 million people for each of the past five years.

The agency also said that recent years' figures suggest people who become refugees are likely to remain uprooted for a long time.

Of the 10.4 million refugees covered by the agency's mandate, 7.1 million have been in exile for at least five years, the agency said.

UNHCR said Afghanistan remains the world's leading source of refugees, accounting for some 2.7 million.

It was followed by Iraq with 1.4 million, Somalia with 1.1 million, Sudan with 500,000 and Congo with 491,000, the report said. (ANI)