AlHijjah 01, 1436, September 15, 2015, SPA -- The numbers of Syrian refugees in Iraq and Lebanon fell in August, while the number in Turkey has risen to almost 2 million and asylum applications in Europe have leapt, the U.N. refugee agency said, according to Reuters. The Syrian refugee count in Turkey has jumped by more than 200,000 since June, having risen by just 14,000 in the previous three months, UNHCR spokeswoman Selin Unal said. From Turkey, tens of thousands of refugees try to reach Europe by attempting the short sea crossing to Greece, though many have drowned on the way. Unal said Turkish authorities were trying to stop people reaching Europe. Syrians who were found making their way through Turkey were stopped and registered as refugees. In Lebanon, a recount of refugee numbers last month removed almost 60,000 from the tally of Syrians there, taking the total down to 1,113,941. In Iraq, the decline in the numbers was small -- 3,747 left while 3,151 arrived during August -- leaving the population of Syrian refugees at 249,463. But any fall in refugee numbers is unusual because of the relentless outflow from Syria, where the war shows no sign of stopping after more than four years. UNHCR data showed 428,735 Syrians applied for asylum in 37 European countries between the start of the war in early 2011 and August this year, an increase of 60,000 since July.
