The United Nations refugee agency says one out of five people living in Lebanon are refugees who have fled the nearly three-year-long conflict in neighboring Syria.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) announced the number of Syrian refugees in Lebanon has surpassed the 848,000 mark.

The UNHCR also said about 793, 000 have registered as refugees. The Lebanese authorities say the exact number could be even higher since many of the Syrian refugees are unregistered and undocumented migrants.

Lebanon has refused to set up official camps for refugees from Syria. Many live in hundreds of unofficial tent settlements on its northern and eastern peripheries.

According to the UNHCR, the number of Syrian refugees is over 2.3 million.

Lebanon currently hosts the highest number of refugees from Syria. More than a million other Syrians have fled to Jordan and Turkey.

The UN refugee agency also said some 4.2 million people have also been displaced inside Syria since the beginning of the conflict in the Arab country.

Syria has been gripped by deadly unrest since 2011. According to reports, the Western powers and their regional allies -- especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey -- are supporting the militants operating inside Syria.

By Press TV

 

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