A senior U.N. humanitarian official reported on Tuesday that the number of people in need of humanitarian assistance as a result of the ongoing conflict in Syria now swelled to 8.3 million, representing about 38 per cent of the country's population.
According to Panos Moumtzis, Regional Coordinator for Syrian Refugees for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the figure includes some 6.8 million in need inside the country and 1.5 million who have sought refuge in neighboring countries.
An estimated 70,000 people have been killed and millions displaced since an armed rebellion against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad began in Syria in March 2011. The civil war is now threatening to spill over to neighboring nations and increasingly becoming sectarian in nature.
"The situation in the neighboring countries and movement of refugees across the border is obviously a direct consequence of the increased level of insecurity inside Syria, and in particular in areas of conflict," Moumtzis told a news conference in Geneva.
The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has labelled the situation in Syria as a "humanitarian catastrophe" and warned that funding for the response has not kept pace with the growing needs.
In January, more than $1.5 billion was pledged by donors for the humanitarian response to the Syrian crisis. Early next month, the U.N. and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are due to announce a revised funding appeal in the light of growing needs.
Moumtzis said the humanitarian situation in Syria had been "rapidly spiraling downwards" since the start of the year, and concerns increased with the onset of warmer weather in the region.
"UNHCR is now very much worried about the coming summer months and in particular the increase in temperatures and the associated health problems linked to water and sanitation," he stated, adding that agencies were doing their best to ensure that there were no outbreaks of diseases.
Regarding the situation in the neighboring countries, Moumtzis reported that there were now 500,000 Syrian refugees in Lebanon and an equal number in Jordan.
"Such a significant number of refugees in a tiny country like Lebanon - with growing unemployment and insecurity, tremendous political pressure inside the country and the complexity of regional politics - made the Lebanese situation extremely dangerous," he noted.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.