Azernews.Az

The number of Syrian refugees residing in Turkey, reached almost 300,000, the Akşam newspaper quoted head of the Office for the Prevention and Emergency Management (AFAD), Fuat Oktay as saying on Thursday.

According to Oktay, over 181,000 refugees reside in camps set up by the Turkish government for Syrian refugees. In addition, over 100,000 refugees reside in the border provinces of Turkey, outside the camps.

The Turkish state has spent 687.4 million lira for residence of Syrian refugees in the camps and outside them.

The great number of Syrian refugees account for the province of Sanliurfa - 83,000. In addition, refugees are also accommodated in the province of Hatay, Kilis, Kahramanmaras, Gaziantep, Adiyaman and Osmaniye.

According to the UN report, the number of refugees from Syria, where armed conflict between opposition forces and government troops continues for the second year, has exceeded 700,000.

The report says that 219,000 Syrian refugees arrived in Jordan, over 226,000 - Lebanon, 163,000 - Turkey, 77,500 - Iraq and about 14,000 - Egypt.

Anti-government protests have continued in Syria for more than a year and half. According to UN, the total number of victims of the conflict in Syria exceeds 70,000 with around three million in need of humanitarian assistance. The Syrian authorities say they oppose the well-armed militants.