AlHijjah 2, 1434, Oct 7, 2013, SPA -- The United Nations expects another 2 million Syrians to become refugees in 2014 and 2.25 million more to be displaced within the country, according to documents seen Monday by Reuters. U.N. agencies are preparing to launch a new appeal for aid to help victims of the civil war, which began in March 2011 and shows no sign of ending. Officials from 10 U.N. agencies, the International Organization for Migration, and 18 other aid groups met in Amman on September 26 to plan their strategy for 2014. "The most likely scenario was perceived to be continuation and escalation of the conflict with increased fragmentation, disruption of essential services, and further erosion of coping mechanisms," officials from the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) told the meeting, according to a summary posted on a U.N. website. OCHA projects that up to 8.3 million people-or more than one-third of Syria's pre-war population of 23 million-would be in need by the end of 2014, a 37 percent increase over 2013, including 6.5 million internally displaced people, a 54 percent increase. The number of refugees was expected to hit 3.2 million by December, 1 million more than now, and rise by an additional 2 million next year, the summary said. Most Syrian refugees so far have been registered in Lebanon, JordanTurkey, and Iraq. The document said planning for the needs of refugees next year also would include those arriving in Europe and North Africa.
