According to the data from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (September 2013), there are currently over 3 million refugees today in Syria. It is the largest refugee crisis of the last twenty years.

Before the beginning of the conflict, there were 21.1 million inhabitants in Syria. With the war, a third of them (about 7 million) 
have become political refugees, 4.5 million of them are internal refugees.

Half of those who have left Syria are minors. Three-quarters of these are eleven-year-olds who have found shelter in Lebanon, 
Jordan, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt.

Recently many refugees have reached Northern Africa and Europe.

The Syrian Refugees in the Autonomous Region of Kurdistan number 150,000, arriving from Damascus, Aleppo, al-Hasaka and Qamishlo.

40,000 of them have repatriated because of the precarious living conditions in the refugee camps and every day 500 to 1000 people return with infectious diseases they contracted there.

In an interview with the daily paper The Guardian, Antonio Guterres, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, confirms that in Lebanon one out of every six inhabitants is Syrian. In Lebanon there are 800,000 refugees.

In Turkey they are over 600,000 refugees, 200,000 of which are in 20 camps along the border while 200,000 are registered across the country in various Kurdish and Turkish cities. According to the UN this amount could reach one million by the end of 2013. There are camps with tents: 4 of them in Hatay, 2 in Urfa, 3 in Antep, and one each in Maras, Osmaniya, Adiyaman, Mardin, Adana. There are six camps with containers distributed as follows: 2 in Kilis, one each in Urfa, Malatya, Hatay and Antep.

In Jordan, Zaatari is the largest refugee camp and became the fourth largest city in the country: in total there are 130,000.

INTERNAL REFUGEES

According to the data from the Kurdish Supreme Council, 700,000 refugees in search of protection have arrived in Afrin – Kurds from Aleppo, Till Hasil and Till Aran (where there has been a massacre), and Arabs from Idlib, Nablus, Zehra, and Keferzete. The population of Afrin therefore has more than doubled.

In Kobani there are about 200,000 refugees, escaping from Aleppo, Raqqa, TIl Abyad, Ain Isa, Mimbic, Cerablus.

In the Cizre Region there are between 800 and 900,000 refugees escaping from Deree, Humus, Aleppo, Hama, Idlib.

BORDERS

Until now, the border crossings were distributed as follows: Qamishlo (Syria Rojava)/Nusaybin (Turkey)
Dirbesiye (Syria Rojava)/Kiziltepe, (Turkey)
Kubani (Syria Rojava) /Suruc (Turkey) 
Serekaniye (Syria Rojava)/ Ceylanpinar (Turkey) 
Derik (Syria Rojava)/ Semalka (Kurdish Autonomous Region – KRG)

These crossings have been closed according to political interests of the Turkish State and the Autonomous Region.

HUMANITARIAN AID AND INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

Until now the aid material has been collected by Kurds living in Turkey, Iraq and Europe; and sent occasionally by the Kurdish Red Crescent to the Kurdish border regions using the crossing of Dirbesiye and Kubani.

Until now help has come from Medecins Sans Frontiers, Medico International and German headquarters of the Red Crescent.

The latter international organization has opened various branches in all Kurdish cities coordinating all international aid material 
for delivery to the civilian population.

No international aid material has reached its destination, in spite of the fact that these cities have given shelter to most of the Syrian civil population seeking protection.

HOW AID CAN ARRIVE

Turkey and the Kurdish Autonomous Region (KRG) should open the crossings allowing the passage of humanitarian aid.

The transition government which will replace the Kurdish Supreme Council will be willing to effect the collection and the delivery of humanitarian aid through its committees.