More than 2 million will flee Syrian war this year, warns UN official

One million more people will be displaced within Syria by the end of the year if the war there continues unabated, potentially adding to the flow of refugees to Europe, a senior U.N. official said. Yacoub El Hillo, U.N. resident and humanitarian coordinator in Syria, said the conflict had already displaced one million people within Syria so far in 2015, with intensified fighting in much of the country now in its fifth year of war. He urged greater international support for severely underfunded aid efforts aimed at sustaining Syrians in their country wherever possible, and warned that a forecast harsh winter ahead would bring even more hardship.

Unless something big is done to resolve this conflict through political means, the human train that has started moving out of Syria and the neighborhood will continue to be running for many months to come.

Yacoub El Hillo, U.N. resident and humanitarian coordinator in Syria

The conflict which has killed 250,000 people since 2011 has forced half of all Syrians from their homes, creating 4 million refugees and displacing some 7.6 million more within the country. Its repercussions are being felt like never before in Europe, with tens of thousands of refugees trekking from Greece via the Balkans and Hungary towards western Europe. El Hillo urged more international support to help Syrians stay in the country - where possible. “As I speak to you today, WFP (World Food Programme) has zero dollars to provide food to 5 million people inside Syria come Nov. 1,” he said.

These are two places in the north and in the south where I fear we will be witnessing more human movements as a result of the intensification of the fighting.

Hillo, U.N. resident and humanitarian coordinator in Syria

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