- “Europe To Witness A Wave Of Migration By Syrian Refugee If Funding Stops” Says UNHCR

- The United Nations said Europe would see a wave of migration by Syrian refugees if aid programs did not continue in five neighboring countries hosting most of the refugees.

Amin Awad, director of the Middle East and North Africa Division at UNHCR, said UNHCR needs international support, and UNHCR received only 53 percent of the $ 4.63 billion requested for 2017.

He added that the lack of funding led to a severe shortage of services in 2015, when one million refugees fled to Europe, where UNHCR figures show that half of those fleeing were Syrians.

Awad said an EU-Turkey agreement had largely halted the flow, but the lack of funding for UNHCR had led to new cuts in vital programs to provide food, health care, education and shelter to Syrian refugees.

Turkey currently hosts 3.3 million Syrian refugees, followed by Lebanon with one million refugees.