Turkey continues to be top refugee-hosting country

ANKARA

While the world is witnessing the highest number of forced displacement since World War II, Turkey continues to remain the leading country in hosting refugees.

According to a report released by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) on Wednesday, 70.8 million people were forced to flee their homes last year because of wars, conflicts and persecutions.

On June 20, which marks the World Refugee Day, Turkey continues to be the top refugee-hosting country with 3.9 million refugees.

Syrians make up the largest number of refugees in Turkey with around 3.6 million, followed by Afghans with 164,351, Iraqis with 142,576, Iranians with 37,732, Somalis with 5,518, and 11,515 refugees of other nationalities.

According to the Turkish Interior Ministry, 96.51% of Syrians live in cities -- mainly in Istanbul, Sanliurfa, Hatay, Gaziantep, Mersin and Adana while 3.49% live in refugee camps.

So far Turkey spent more than $30 billion on caring for refugees since the start of the Syrian crisis in March 2011.

While UN agencies repeatedly call for international support for Syrian refugees and the host communities, there is still a lack of burden-sharing from the international community.

Syria has only just begun to emerge from a devastating conflict that began in 2011 when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on demonstrators with unexpected ferocity.

Since then, hundreds of thousands of people are believed to have been killed and millions more displaced by the conflict.