As Syrian Refugees Reach Two Million, Eu Calls for Political Solution

UN figures revealed on Tuesday that the number of Syrian refugees has now reached two million, half of them children. This makes it, says the UN, the worst refugee crisis in 20 years. After such announcement, Brussels on Tuesday urged the international community to find a political solution to the war in Syria. The plea came from the International Cooperation commissioner as Washington and France consider a military strike against the Syrian regime, which allegedly used chemical weapons against civilians. Today it was confirmed that the number of refugees who have fled from the war in Syria into neighboring countries has reached the appalling milestone of two million. I call for the fighting to cease and for a political solution to be found urgently. Until that time -- and it may be further from our reach than ever before - I reiterate my plea to all parties to abide by International Humanitarian Law and to protect civilians and those helping them to survive. The UN says that more Syrians are now displaced than any other nationality. Only in the last 6 months, the total of refugees went up by 1 million. But while most of the refugees are hosted by Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan and Turkey, hundreds of them are also trying to get into Europe from the Western Balkans. The Commission also warned on Tuesday that the worsening of the conflict will only lead to more refugees. Tragic and cruel as it is, the truth is that with violence becoming ever more ferocious, brutal and inhumane, the tide of refugees is bound to continue to rise. And increasingly the civilian population is at the eye of the target. Since the beginning of the civil war in march 2011, more than 100.000 people have died.