Refugees of the Syrian Civil War, widely referred to as the Syrian refugees,[43] are Syrian nationals, who have fled Syria with the escalation of the Syrian Civil War.[44] To escape the violence, more than four million Syrian refugees have fled the country to neighboring Turkey,[45][46] Lebanon, Jordan,[47] and Iraq,[48] while thousands also ended up in more distant countries of the Caucasus, the Persian Gulf, North Africa and Europe. As of February 2015, Turkey has become the world's biggest refugee hosting country with 2.1 million Syrian refugees and had spent more than US$6 billion on direct assistance to refugees.[49][50] The refugee crisis began in 2011, when thousands of Syrian citizens fled across the border to neighboring Turkey and Lebanon. By early July 2011, 15,000 Syrian citizens had taken shelter in tent cities, set up in the Yayladağı, Reyhanlı and Altınözü districts of Hatay Province, near Turkey's border with Syria. By the end of that month, 5,000 of the refugees had returned to Syria.[51] However, by late June 2011, the number of Syrian refugees in Lebanon had reached around 10,000 people. By mid-July 2011, the first Syrian refugees found sanctuary in Jordan, with their numbers reaching 1,500 by December.[52][53] On September 20, 2015 the United States administration announced it would accept 100,000 Syrian refugees by 2017.[54] On September 21 the European Union approved a plan in which each member nation would to take in 120,000 refugees. On July 9, 2015, the UNHCR reported that the number of Syrian refugees has surged over 4,000,000 people, mostly residing in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq. During the first half of 2015, large numbers of Syrian refugees crossed into European Union member states, reaching 313,000 UNHCR applications across Europe by early August 2015.[128] The largest numbers were recorded in Germany with over 89,000 and Sweden with over 62,000 in early August. More than 100,000 refugees crossed the European Union's borders in July alone.[129] Syrians formed the largest group of refugees to Europe.[130] According to The Times, "Jean-Claude Juncker, the European Commission president, is to table a plan to relocate 160,000 asylum seekers from Hungary, Italy and Greece across the European Union. The proposal will include binding quotas to impose more than 55,000 refugees on countries opposed to his scheme."[131][132] The BBC reported that "despite their proximity to Syria, no Syrians claiming asylum have been taken in by Saudi Arabia or other wealthy Gulf countries."[133] The BBC also reported that "most successful cases are Syrians already in Gulf states extending their stays, or those entering because they have family there."[134] There are conflicting reports of Saudi Arabia's version. According to the The Guardian, "Saudi Arabia has said reports about its response to the Syrian refugee crisis are "false and misleading" and it has in fact given residency to 100,000 people as war rages in their country. No Gulf country has signed the UN Convention on Refugees, which sets standards for the treatment and rights of those fleeing to a new country."[10] According to the UNHCR's representative for the Gulf region, there are 500,000 Syrians in Saudi Arabia, but in "official documentation they are referred to as "Arab brothers and sisters in distress"" and not as Syrian nationals.[135] While Al Jazeera and Arab News, on 12 Sep 2015, reported that Saudi Foreign ministry official says nation has received nearly 2.5 million Syrians since 2011.[136][137] Though there were no evidence to authenticate this statement or prove it. On September 21, 2015 23 European Union home affairs and interior ministers of the 28-member nations approved a plan without a consensus, compelling "member countries to take in 120,000 migrants seeking refuge on the Continent." Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia opposed the plan and Finland abstained.[55] Poorer countries like Hungary and Slovakia are concerned about the economic and social cost of absorbing large numbers of refugees. Wealthier countries like Germany and Sweden embrace ethnic diversity and are able to offer more humanitarian assistance.

• published: 24 Sep 2015
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