Refugees of the 2011 Syrian uprising
Encyclopedia
| Total population today: | Total of ~12,000 |
|---|---|
| Estimated refugees (including returnees): | 19,000 arrived in Turkey ~8,500 arrived in Lebanon Some in Jordan Total of ~25,000 |
| Regions with significant population: |  TurkeyTurkey Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe... - 7,600 (November, 2011)  LebanonLebanon Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among... - 4,180 (September 7, 2011) - 6,000 refugees' claim (October 4th, 2011)  JordanJordan Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing... - "Some" (July 2011) |
| Language: | Arabic Arabic language Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book... |
| Religion: | Sunni Islam Sunni Islam Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam. Sunni Muslims are referred to in Arabic as ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah wa āl-Ǧamāʿah or ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah for short; in English, they are known as Sunni Muslims, Sunnis or Sunnites.... , Christian Christianity Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings... minorities |
Refugees of the 2011 Syrian uprising or Syrian refugees relates to populations which fled Syria since April 2011, with the escalation of the 2011 Syrian uprising
2011 Syrian uprising
The 2011 Syrian uprising is an ongoing internal conflict occurring in Syria. Protests started on 26 January 2011, and escalated into an uprising by 15 March 2011...
. The refugee problem has begun unfolding across Syrian borders, intensifying with the siege of Talkalakh
Siege of Talkalakh
The Siege of Talkalakh was a military operation conducted by the Syrian military in the city of Talkalakh against what the government called terrorist groups...
and unrest in the Syrian province of Idlib
Idlib
Idlib is a city in northwestern Syria, capital of the Idlib Governorate. The city of Aleppo, which is roughly 60 km away, has an important economic presence in Idlib. The area around Idlib is very fertile, producing cotton, cereals, olives, figs, grapes, tomatoes, sesame seeds, wheat and almonds....
, near the Turkish border, thousands of Syrian citizens fled across the border to Lebanon and Syria. 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 near Turkey’s border with Syria, with 5,000 of them returning back to Syria by that time of their own volition. The number of Syrian refugees in Lebanon had reached some 10,000 by late June. On July 12, Al-Jazeera reported that some Syrian refugees had found a sanctuary in Jordan, though didn't give numbers. The reports came from the Jordanian town of Ramtha, along the border with Syria.
Early refugee influx
By May 3, 2011, the number of Syrian citizens, crossing the Turkish border was estimated at 300. President of Turkey, Abdullah Gül, said that Turkey is preparing for “a worst case scenario,” in an apparent reference to a possible influx of large numbers of refugees from Syria. He was referring to the fact that Turkey had already set up a small camp in southern Hatay province for 263 Syrians who fled their country on Friday, April 29.By mid May, some 700 of Tel Kalakh residents fled across the border, to the northern Lebanese village of Mkaybleh. According to Sheikh Abdullah, a prominent religious figure in the village of Wadi Khaled in northern Lebanon, by May 13 the village had received more than 1,350 refugees from Syria over a period of 10 days, most of them women and children. More were expected to arrive.
On May 14, Melissa Fleming, spokeswoman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, said that the refugee flow into Lebanon has been "very small" - about 1,000 people. She also said the numbers of Syrians who have crossed the border into Turkey were also small, about 250.
Disturbances in the Idlib province
With the siege of Jisr al-ShughourSiege of Jisr al-Shughur
The Siege of Jisr al-Shughour was an operation conducted by the Syrian security forces in the city of Jisr ash-Shugur against what the government called terrorist groups, while the opposition called it a crackdown against pro-democracy protesters as part of the 2011 Syrian uprising.-Siege:On 4...
the situation on the Turkish-Syrian border deteriorated, as Jisr al-Shughour, home to 41,000 people, became largely abandoned town, in expectation of Syrian Army
Syrian Army
The Syrian Army, officially called the Syrian Arab Army, is the land force branch of the Syrian Armed Forces. It is the dominant military service of the four uniformed services, controlling the senior most posts in the armed forces, and has the greatest manpower, approximately 80 percent of the...
attack. Initially The Guardian reported that officials in southern Turkey said that about 2,500 Syrians, many from Jisr al-Shughour, had crossed the border. However, the number of refugees, housed in refugee camps across the Turkish-Syrian border had exceeded 10,000 by mid June. The number of Syrian refugees in Lebanon was estimated by human right associations at 8,500 on June 18, with main concentrations in Akkar and Tripoli areas, making the total number of Syrian refugees to surpass 20 thousand people.
As Syrian troops massed in front of the Turkish border, the flow rate further increased hundreds of refugees a day on June 23, reaching a total of 11,700 Syrian citizens, housed in refugee camps across the Turkish border.
According to official numbers by early July, 15,228 Syrians had sought refuge in Turkey, as a result of tension caused by countrywide protests
2011 Syrian uprising
The 2011 Syrian uprising is an ongoing internal conflict occurring in Syria. Protests started on 26 January 2011, and escalated into an uprising by 15 March 2011...
and a crackdown on protests by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad
Bashar al-Assad
Bashar al-Assad is the President of Syria and Regional Secretary of the Ba'ath Party. His father Hafez al-Assad ruled Syria for 29 years until his death in 2000. Al-Assad was elected in 2000, re-elected in 2007, unopposed each time.- Early Life :...
’s administration. More than 5,000 of them had returned to Syria of their own volition, thus some 10,227 Syrian refugees had remained in Turkey.
In Lebanon
The numbers of registered Syrian refugees in Lebanon reached 2,600 on early September, with thousands more residing in Syria while crossing illegally. According to UNHCR, some 120 Syrian refugees crossed into Lebanon on August 29. According to Al-Arabiya, some 2,500 Syrians resided in the Wadi Khaled area, down from 5,500 which were there in May. Most of the Syrian refugees in the area were Arabs and Bedouins. A humanitarian aid campaign was launched by "Baitulmaal" nicknamed the "Syrian Refugee Relief".In September 2011, the estimations for Syrian refugees in Lebanon rose to around 4,000 registered, with possibly as many as 6,000 in total residing there.
In Turkey
Despite the return of many Syrians back to Syria through July and August, in early September Turkey began setting up six refugee camps for over Syrian refugees, who fled from Syria in June - some 6,000 out of initial 15,000 remaining in Turkey.See also
- Refugees of the 2011 Libyan civil warRefugees of the 2011 Libyan civil warRefugees of the 2011 Libyan civil war are the people, predominantly Libyans, who fled or were expelled from their homes during the 2011 Libyan civil war, from within the borders of Libya to the neighbouring states of Tunisia, Egypt and Chad, as well as to European countries across the Mediterranean...
- Sahrawi refugee camps
- Kurdish refugeesKurdish refugeesThe problem of Kurdish refugees and displaced has been created over the 20th century in the Middle East, and continues to loom today. Displacements of Kurds had already been happening within the Ottoman Empire, on pretext of local rebellions' suppression, over the period of its domination of the...
External Links
- CBS News - Syrian refugees flee to Lebanon, June 25, 2011.http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7371336n