Refugees of the Syrian civil war

Refugees of the Syrian Civil War are citizens and permanent residents of Syria who have fled the country throughout the Syrian Civil War. The pre-war population of the Syrian Arab Republic was estimated at 22 million (2017), including permanent residents. Of that number, the United Nations (UN) identified 13.5 million (2016) as displaced persons, requiring humanitarian assistance. Of these, since the start of the Syrian Civil War in 2011 more than six million (2016) were internally displaced, and around five million (2016) had crossed into other countries, seeking asylum or placed in Syrian refugee camps worldwide. It is often described as one of the largest refugee crises in history. Armed revolts emerged across Syria in 2011 when security forces launched a violent campaign of clampdown on nation-wide protests, prompting opposition to form resistance militias, escalating the situation towards a civil war. Ensuing assaults on civilian areas by the Syrian Armed Forces resulted in the forced displacement of millions of Syrians, leading to a full-blown refugee crisis. The Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan (3RP) was established in 2015 as a coordination platform including neighboring countries except Israel. By 2016, various nations had made pledges to the UNHCR to permanently resettle 170,000 registered refugees. Syrian refugees have contributed to the European migrant crisis, with the UNHCR receiving almost one million asylum applicants in Europe by August 2017. Turkey is the largest host country of registered refugees, with over 3.7 million Syrian refugees. As of December 2022, a minimum of 580,000 people is estimated to be dead; with 13 million Syrians being displaced and 6.7 million refugees forced to flee Syria. The Ba'athist regime and its security apparatus have arrested and tortured numerous repatriated refugees, subjecting them to forced disappearances and extrajudicial executions. Around 12 million Syrians live under conditions of severe food insecurity. More than two-thirds of the displaced are women and children.

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