Turkey may face 1m Syrian refugees by end of 2013

The number of Syrian refugees in Turkey may reach one million by the end of this year, Turkish Daily News reported Friday, quoting a UN refugee official. Carol Batchelor, representative of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Turkey, said the number of Syrian refugees might reach up to 3.5 million in the region, of which some one million would come to Turkey, should the Syrian crisis continues. Political solution is the only possible way to permanently halt the distress in the region, said Batchelor. "But until that political solution is found, there has to be a humanitarian response." Official figures from the Turkish government show that over half a million Syrian refugees are now taking shelter in Turkey.