(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) BEIRUT, March 9 (KUNA) -- UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said on Friday the consequences of seven-year conflict in Syria represent colossal human tragedy, blaming continued violence on failure of political will.
Speaking to reporters at the end of a three-day visit to Lebanon, Grandi said the suffering of civilians in Eastern Ghouta is "an appalling example of the human tragedy resulting from the conflict in Syria.
"The choice of the people in Ghouta is either to get out - and they don't know what's happening when they get out of Ghouta - or to stay and be under the bombs.
"How much worse can it get for any human being? It is truly appalling, and a symbol of how catastrophic this conflict has become for the civilians," he said.
Grandi noted that a UN and Red Cross convoy was forced to leave Ghouta on Monday before it could unload completely and was able to re-enter the besieged enclave on Friday to deliver the remaining aid supplies.
Lebanon hosts more refugees per capita than any country in the world. With close to a million registered refugees from the conflict next door, Syrians account for roughly a quarter of the country's population.
Grandi paid tribute to Lebanon's people and government for offering sanctuary and opening its schools, hospitals and services to Syrians for so many years.
He acknowledged the strain that such an effort had put on the country's economy and local communities, and called on international donors to do even more to support refugees and their hosts in the region.
Without a political solution in Syria, it is premature to expect refugees to return home in large numbers.
"Syrians are saying 'we want to go back eventually to Syria, but almost all of them say not right now," he said, adding, "We need to continue to prepare eventually for that return, and we're doing a lot of work in Syria itself to prepare for that." The raging conflict rendered six million Syrians internally-displaced and forced 5.6 million others to fee their country, he noted, adding that 69 percent of the Syrians are in extreme poverty.
Grandi voiced hope that the international donor conference on Syria, due in Brussels on April 24-25 would result in sustained pledges and robust support for the Syrian refugees and their host countries.
He commended the emergency response plan, developed by 270 fund-raising agencies in last December for meeting the needs of refugees in 2018.
The plan targeting USD 4.4 billion in financial assistance for the refugees and their host communities secured almost a half of the funding by the end of last year. (end) ayb.gb
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