Wars, Refugees | featured news

The U.N. refugee agency said Thursday the number of Syrian refugees who have fled their country's civil war and found shelter in Egypt has now topped 150,000 — a significant jump from last month's figure of 95,000. The director of UNHCR in Egypt, Mohamed Dayri, said that despite the growing number of refugees in Egypt, only 4,800 Syrians have registered with the agency in Cairo. He called on Egyptian authorities to help UNHCR deal with the "rising emergency" of Syrian refugees here.

Pakistan's military sought to reassure refugees returning to the war-scarred Swat Valley that security there is under control, despite fighting between government troops and militants.

Pakistan said Tuesday it was racing to help refugees fleeing a military offensive against the Taliban in its northwest - an exodus of some 1.5 million with a speed and size the U.N. said could rival the displacement caused by Rwanda's genocide.