The exodus from Syria to neighbouring countries continues, as Syrians flee the brutality of the security forces putting down protests against the Al-Assad regime Thousands of Syrians have abandoned their homes to flee to neighbouring countries because of the campaign launched by the country's security forces and army six months ago to put down popular protests demanding freedom and democracy, writes Bassel Oudat. They have mostly fled to countries sharing a border with Syria, including Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan, especially after the Syrian security forces and army put the city of Deraa close to the border with Jordan under siege. The shelling of the cities of Hems and Banyas close to the border with Lebanon and the occupation of the towns of Jisr Al-Shaghur and Edleb near the Turkish border also led to waves of refugees. Most of those fleeing the country have crossed the borders illegally via mountain trails usually used for smuggling operations close to the Syrian-Turkish border. Alternatively, they have crossed the river separating Lebanon from Syria, or the minefield along the Syrian-Jordanian border. Some of those fleeing have been killed as they tried to escape from the country, and there have been many reports of shootings by the army over the past few months. Some 3,784 Syrians have registered as refugees at the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) office in northern Lebanon. According to the UNHCR, more than 900 of these are between the ages of four and 17. Syrian activists estimate the number of refugees in Lebanon at nearly 6,000, not all of them being registered with the UNHCR. Many Syrian refugees are staying with relatives in Wadi Khaled in the north of Lebanon, where families are spread out on both sides of the border. Others are being housed in schools or other buildings and are relying on aid from UN agencies or NGOs. Tens of families share one bathroom at the school in which they are staying, and they say they cannot return to Syria for fear of persecution. At the same time, the Syrian refugees are doubtful of their safety in Lebanon, since the Syrian regime has allies in the country, among them the Shia group Hizbullah. The UNHCR has estimated the number of Syrian refugees who have fled to Jordan because of security conditions in Syria at nearly 1,000. Most of these are staying with relatives in the towns of Al-Ramtha and Al-Mifraq close to the border with Syria. Syrian activists say that the true number of refugees is higher, perhaps as high as 3,000, and that most of them come from the southern Syrian city of Deraa. The refugees are reluctant to reveal their identities, the activists say, for fear of reprisals. Two months after the eruption of the protests in Syria some six months ago, Jordan cleared some minefields on the border between the two countries, this being seen as an indirect move to facilitate the escape of Syrian refugees to Jordan. The Jordanian authorities have allowed the children of Syrian refugees to enroll in public schools for free, but they have not granted the adults work permits. The largest number of Syrian refugees has been recorded in Turkey, Syria's northern neighbour, after a mass exodus in that direction. Thousands of Syrians have headed to three refugee camps inside the Turkish border, which at one time were thought to hold as many as 18,000 refugees. This number has now dropped to 8,000, but it is increasing each week. Children and women account for about 90 per cent of the refugees. The Turkish authorities have banned the media from entering the Syrian refugee camps, and they have blocked contacts between camp residents and the outside world. It has also blocked access by regional and international aid organisations and human rights groups wanting to investigate reports of human rights abuses committed in Syria. Turkey views the Syrians as "guests", not refugees, though Syrian human rights monitors assert that many of the refugees who returned from Turkish refugee camps into Syria were immediately arrested upon their arrival on Syrian soil. Reports also say that security patrols on the Syrian border are closely monitoring any illegal border crossings, using live ammunition to prevent people from leaving Syrian territory. However, the number of Syrian refugees in countries neighbouring Syria seems set to rise as a result of the Syrian regime's continuing repression of the protests, and human rights groups have called on international organisations to provide health and other assistance to the refugees in order to avert a humanitarian crisis.
