Syrian refugees in neighboring countries triple in three months

The number of Syrians registered or awaiting registration as refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and Iraq is up to 311,500, compared to around 100,000 in June, a spokesman with the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said Tuesday. Adrian Edwards said the continuing rapid growth of refugee numbers underscores the urgency of last week's revised Syria Regional Response Plan, an appeal for 487.9 million U.S. dollars to help 710,000 Syrian refugees by the end of this year. UN and its NGO partners presented the first plan for Syrian refugees with an appeal for 84.1 million U.S. dollars to address the humanitarian needs of some 98,000 refugees over six months. It was revised in June to seek 193.2 million U.S. dollars for a planned population of 185,000 people. When the appeal, revised for the second time, was launched Thursday, the number of refugees registered or awaiting registration was already 294,000, according to the UNHCR. Edwards said the upcoming winter would the needs even more urgent. A winterization plan is being developed, but it requires support and funding, he said.