Syrian refugees numbering in the millions fled civil war in their country in the early 2000′s. Many were housed in refugee camps like this camp in Sanliurfa, Turkey.
Credit: © Orlok/Shutterstock

Today, June 20, is World Refugee Day. The United Nations designated the day to honor refugees from around the world. A refugee is a person forced to flee from his or her country and find safety elsewhere. Many refugees seek to escape persecution based on religion, nationality, membership in a social group, or political beliefs. Some flee from war, famine, or other dangers. Many refugees give up everything—home, possessions, and family and friends—to pursue an uncertain future in a foreign land.

The term refugee comes from the French word refugie, which was used to describe Protestant Huguenots who fled France in 1685 because of Roman Catholic persecution. The term displaced person, or DP, is sometimes used interchangeably with refugee.

The flow of refugees from one country to another can present major international challenges. Countries that receive refugees—often called host countries—may have difficulty providing shelter, food, sanitation, and medical treatment for large numbers of people in need. Since 1951, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has helped millions of refugees throughout the world. The UNHCR estimates there were nearly 89.3 million refugees, internally displaced people, and asylum seekers at the end of 2021. This number has increased in 2022 as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine as well as the ongoing crises in Afghanistan, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Myanmar, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, and Syria. The Rohingya are a people of Myanmar who are not recognized as legal residents and are forced to flee the country for safety and rights.

Rohingya Muslim refugees from Myanmar await rescue after being stranded off the coast of Indonesia. The government of Myanmar limited the rights of its Rohingya population in the 2010′s, leading an increasing number to attempt to flee the country. Myanmar’s government considered them illegal immigrants, although many Rohingya families had lived in the country for decades.
Credit: AP Photo

Under international law, governments in host countries must respect the basic human rights of refugees. Refugees, in turn, are expected to respect the laws and regulations of host countries. The shelter and protection that host countries provide to refugees is called asylum. In host countries, refugees generally have freedom of movement, freedom of religion, and the ability to pursue education and work. However, some refugees have no choice but to stay in crowded refugee camps. Refoulement—that is, the forcible return of refugees to countries where they face persecution—is a violation of international law.

Refugees often face many obstacles and hardships on their journeys. Salva Dut escaped from South Sudan on foot and faced many years in refugee camps before being welcomed in the United States. He works to bring clean water to his home country. Many refugees try to help the community they left in order to make the lives of others safer and healthier.

Many communities plan activities and events on World Refugee Day to support refugees and welcome them. Look up if your community is hosting an event or read about how you can help refugees in your neighborhood.

October 19, 2017

As Islamic State terrorist forces lost ground in Iraq in 2017, the terror group was also losing ground in neighboring Syria, a country torn apart by civil war since 2011. At times, the Islamic State has controlled large parts of Syria, but its grip has recently shrunk to areas along the Euphrates River in the nation’s sparsely populated east. In 2014, the terror group took control of the northern Syrian city of Raqqa (also spelled Ar Raqqah), proclaiming it a regional capital within its so-called caliphate. The group’s main capital was Mosul, Iraq, which fell in July. Other names for the Islamic State have included the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

Raqqa, Syria, lies in ruins on Aug. 1, 2017. Fighting to oust Islamic State militants destroyed much of the city in 2017. Credit: Mahmoud Bali, Voice of America

The Islamic State staged euphoric parades—as well as numerous atrocities—in Raqqa, a city that once numbered 300,000 people. Most of Raqqa’s residents fled, but those who could not were forced to watch as Islamic State executioners murdered dozens of people daily. Mass executions took place regularly at the city’s main Clock Tower Square, grisly killings of people who stepped out of line with the terror group’s extreme interpretation of Islam.

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Raqqa (here spelled Ar Raqqah) lies on the Euphrates River in northern Syria. Al Mayadin is down river in eastern Syria. Both cities were liberated from Islamic State control in October 2017. Credit: WORLD BOOK map

In 2017, however, the suffering people of Raqqa witnessed a turnaround. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a Kurdish and Arab militia group,
chased Islamic State fighters away from areas surrounding Raqqa, leaving the city an isolated Islamic State stronghold. On June 6, SDF troops—supplied and supported by the United States-led coalition also fighting the Islamic State—entered Raqqa. Heavy fighting erupted as Islamic State militants battled invading SDF troops. Throughout June, July, and August, the SDF advanced street-by-street against stiff Islamic State resistance.

By September 1, Islamic State control was reduced to several neighborhoods in the city’s north and in the central area around the killing ground of Clock Tower Square. By early October, the battered ruins of Raqqa were firmly in SDF hands, and only scattered pockets of the most fanatic Islamic State fighters remained (thousands of fighters had fled or surrendered). At last, on October 17, the SDF declared Raqqa secured: the last Islamic State fighters in the city had fled or been killed or captured.

Like the fall of Mosul in July, the fall of Raqqa was a significant moment in the fight against the Islamic State, but the fight continues. Also in October, Syrian government forces—who are at war with rebels as well as the Islamic State (but not the SDF)—took control of the eastern town of al Mayadin in Deir al-Zor province, the Islamic State’s last Syrian stronghold.

June 6, 2017

Fifty years ago this week, Israel and the Arab countries of Egypt, Jordan, and Syria fought a brutal war that lasted just six days. From June 5 to June 10, 1967, Israel defeated the combined forces of the other nations and preserved the young nation’s existence. The Six-Day War, also known as the June War or the Arab-Israeli War of 1967, was a crucial moment in the history of the Middle East. Far from settling rival national and religious issues, the war created further divisions between the region’s people and led to later conflict and tensions that continue today, 50 years after the last shot was fired.

The Arab-Israeli conflict erupted into war in June 1967. Israeli tanks, shown here, along with other Israeli air and ground forces, defeated the forces of Egypt, Syria, and Jordan. Credit: AP Photo

Israel and the region’s surrounding Arab nations have been at odds—and often in open conflict—ever since Israel was established in 1948. In 1967, tensions and border skirmishes in Syria, Israel’s neighbor to the northeast, led to an air battle between Israeli and Syrian warplanes. Egypt, pledging support for Syria, sent thousands of troops into the Sinai Peninsula southwest of Israel. Egypt also cut off the important Israeli port of Elat from the Red Sea. Syrian troops then massed on the Israeli border, and Jordan (southeast of Israel) joined the Egyptian-Syrian alliance. Arab leaders—most notably Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser—called for Israel’s destruction. Some 330,000 Arab troops surrounded Israel, along with about 2,000 tanks and 600 warplanes. Israel’s forces included about 250,000 troops, 1,000 tanks, and 250 warplanes. The Israelis were outnumbered, but they were better equipped, trained, and coordinated. After failed diplomatic efforts, Israel struck before the Arab forces could attack.

Early on June 5, 1967, Israeli warplanes struck several Egyptian air bases. The attack destroyed hundreds of Egyptian planes. At the same time, Israeli tanks and infantry smashed into Gaza and the Sinai, routing Egyptian ground forces. By June 7, Israel had taken the Sinai.

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In the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel faced the combined armies of Egypt, Jordan, and Syria. The fighting took place from June 5 to June 10 and ended in a decisive Israeli victory. Credit: WORLD BOOK map

Late in the morning on June 5, Jordanian artillery and warplanes struck positions in northern Israel, including Tel Aviv and west Jerusalem. Israel responded with air strikes that wiped out the Jordanian air force. That afternoon, Israeli troops began battling Jordanian forces in and around Jerusalem. Israeli warplanes destroyed Jordan’s reinforcement convoys. By the morning of June 7, only pockets of Jordanian troops remained in Jerusalem. Israeli forces then entered and gained control of Jerusalem’s walled Old City. By nightfall on June 7, Israel had taken the West Bank.

Syrian artillery and warplanes attacked Israeli targets along the Syrian border on June 5. Later that day, Israeli warplanes destroyed most of the Syrian air force. After fighting in the Sinai and the West Bank ended, Israel turned its attention to Syria’s heavily defended Golan Heights. Early on June 9, Israeli warplanes battered Syrian troops entrenched on the heights. By noon, Israeli ground forces had entered Syria. Fierce battles erupted all along the border, but Israeli troops soon controlled the Golan Heights. A cease-fire on June 10 ended the Six-Day War.

About 800 Israelis died in the Six-Day War, and another 2,400 were wounded. Combined Arab casualties (people killed, wounded, missing, or captured) were about 50,000, including more than 14,000 dead.

In November 1967, the United Nations called for Israel to withdraw from territories it gained in the war. In return, the Arab countries were to recognize and accept the nation of Israel’s right to exist. Israel, however, refused to give up the captured territories, and the Arab countries renewed their opposition to Israel.

Egypt and Syria again attacked Israel in the 1973 Yom Kippur War (also called the Ramadan War, the October War, or the Arab-Israeli War of 1973). This larger conflict ended in a stalemate. The Sinai Peninsula was returned to Egypt in 1979. Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip in 2005 but maintains control of its borders. Israel still occupies the Golan Heights and parts of the West Bank.

February 22, 2016

Syria
Credit: WORLD BOOK map

Yesterday, February 21, in war-torn Syria, Islamic State terrorist bombs killed around 150 people and injured nearly 200 others in the cities of Damascus and Homs. Islamic State attacks, as well as attacks by other groups, are commonplace in Syria, but these latest attacks came as several nations—including Russia and the United States—struggle to negotiate a cease-fire. The cease-fire talks involve only government and rebel groups, not the many terrorist groups also involved in the fighting. So, even if the talks bring a pause in some of the fighting, the campaigns against the Islamic State and other terror groups will continue. The scene is further confused by disagreement on which groups are to be defined as terrorists. Syria’s bloody civil war has raged since 2011.

Sunday’s attacks took place in Shī`ite Muslim neighborhoods of Damascus and Homs. The Islamic State is a radical Sunni Muslim group. Sunnis and Shī`ites have been at odds for centuries.

December 23, 2015

As of Monday, more than 1 million migrants have entered Europe by sea or land this year, according to the International Organization for Migration, the leading inter-governmental organization in the field of migration. This number represents a fourfold rise over the total last year. Most of the migrants—more than 970,000 people—have come by way of the Mediterranean Sea. The rest came by land, crossing from Turkey into Bulgaria and Greece. More migrants entered Europe across the Mediterranean in October than in all of 2014. Europe now faces the biggest refugee crisis since World War II (1939-1945).

A group of migrants make their way over a meadow after crossing the border between Austria and Germany in Wegscheid near Passau, Germany, in October 2015. Credit: © Matthias Schrader, AP Photo

Half of those crossing the Mediterranean in 2015 were Syrians escaping civil war in their homeland. More than 4 million Syrians have fled the four-year conflict. Afghans made up 20 percent of the migrants, and Iraqis accounted for 7 percent. Nearly 3,700 of those traveling by sea have drowned or are missing after attempting to cross the sea in unseaworthy boats.

Germany was the main destination for many of the migrants entering Europe. The most economically powerful country in the European Union (EU), Germany has led the way in extending a welcome to migrants. The EU is an economic and political partnership among 28 European countries. In August, German Chancellor Angela Merkel adopted a broad refugee policy that dramatically expanded the flow of Syrian refugees to Europe. Although Merkel initially drew widespread praise for the humanitarian spirit of her open-door refugee policy, she later faced criticism at home and abroad. The policy exacerbated political rifts within the EU.

Merkel’s offer immediately attracted tens of thousands of additional asylum seekers, including many non-Syrians. The large flow of asylum seekers is imposing major costs on receiving communities and on transit countries that are ill-equipped to handle the logistical burdens of the flow. Many of the governments of these countries resent the situation and some have put up fences. Hungary and Slovakia are taking legal action at the European Court of Justice to challenge EU plans to share asylum seekers across EU states. Politicians in some of the countries have warned that the refugee crisis has exposed problems in Europe’s Schengen passport-free area, saying that states must agree on migrant quotas. In addition, security risks were heightened in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks in Paris last month. Some of the attackers were believed to have come to France as part of the flow of migrants through Greece.

Although Merkel recently announced that she would make changes to her policy, popular support for Merkel and her party has waned because of the influx of migrants. Some commentators questioned Merkel’s political future. In the meantime, Merkel appears to be committed to her earlier pledge, “Wir schaffen das” (“We will cope”), asserting that Germany would continue to be a welcoming host to refugees. Anything else, she said, would “not be my country.”

Additional World Book article:

• Immigration

October 1, 2015

Russian airstrike in Syria. (Credit: Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation)

Today, for the second day in a row, Russian warplanes launched airstrikes in Syria against terrorists and rebel opponents of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Russia had openly built up troops and military equipment in Syria over the last few weeks, intending to help Assad—a staunch Russian ally—end the 4-year-old civil war in Syria. More than 200,000 people have died in the conflict, and millions have been displaced.

Russia’s entry into the mix only complicated matters, adding yet another factor into an already confused tangle of alliances and interests. Civil war erupted in Syria in 2011 following the failure of pro-democracy protests to change the autocratic regime of President Assad. Rebel groups rose up against Assad, but also against each other. The chaos created a void exploited by such terrorist groups as the Islamic State, which itself had risen from the chaos of war in neighboring Iraq.

The Syrian conflict is also sectarian, pitting rival Shī’ite and Sunni Muslims against each other. Iran and Lebanon, both predominantly Shī’ah, have aided Assad, a Shī`ite Alawite. Most of the rebels are Sunni, the dominant Islamic division in Syria. There are also Kurdish rebels fighting in Syria (Kurds are the area’s largest ethnic minority), as well as rebels with solely political aims to remove Assad from power.

In 2014, the scene became even more muddled as the spread of the Islamic State led the United States and its allies—including many Sunni Middle Eastern states—to take action in Syria as well. U.S. and allied airstrikes have since been hitting Islamic State-controlled areas in both Syria and Iraq. France, Jordan, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia are among the U.S.-led coalition, which, aside from squashing the Islamic State, wants Assad removed from power.

So, not wanting to be the only nation left out, Russian entered the fray as Assad’s only non-Shī’ah ally. No one minds Russian warplanes hitting terrorist positions, but they have also been hitting anti-Assad rebels regardless of who they are or who is behind them. This includes groups that been trained and supported by the United States. There is a common goal: rid the world of the scourge of the Islamic State. But beyond that, there is little in common.

This was highlighted on Monday, September 28, by the vastly different speeches on the Syrian quagmire given by both Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Barack Obama at the United Nations (UN) general assembly. Putin pushed for Assad, and Obama pushed against the Syrian dictator. Russia has more in mind, however, than simply propping up Assad. The ties between Syria and Russia are long standing, and Russia has sold weapons and military equipment to Syria for decades. In addition, a Russian naval base in Syria gives the Russians access to the Mediterranean Sea.

Other World Book article

• Syria: The Roots of a Rebellion (a Special report)
• Syria (2012-a Back in time report)
• Syria (2013-a Back in time report)

May 21, 2015

For the second time this week, the terrorist group Islamic State (ISIS) has captured a city of importance. Earlier this week, the Iraqi city of Ramadi fell to ISIS militants. On May 20, ISIS gained the Syrian city of Palmyra; this latter gain gave the militants control of more than half of the territory in Syria. This setback for the U.S.-led coalition forces fighting ISIS in Iraq and Syria caused Republican legislators to question the Obama administration’s strategy of only providing air strikes in support of coalition ground troops supplied by local Middle Eastern countries. Some Republicans called for the United States to send ground troops to aid in the fight against ISIS.

Islamic State (ISIS) fighters during a military parade in Raqqa province in Syria. Credit: © Alamy Images

Palmyra’s fall was sudden. The Syrian army was unable to put forth an orderly retreat, and many lower level troops and civilians were trapped. ISIS is conducting door-to-door searches for Syrian soldiers and people thought to be loyal to the government of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad. The militants then execute such people in the town square.

In addition to the human tragedy, the fall of Palmyra gives ISIS control of important bases belonging to the Syrian army and highways linking various regions of Syria. Also, Palmyra is an ancient oasis city that was an important cultural center long ago. The ruins of the ancient city are designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Because ISIS has a history of destroying pre-Islamic art and architecture, preservationists fear the ruins may be lost.

Ruins of Palmyra stand in central Syria. This ancient city thrived more than 2,000 years ago as a major stop for caravans. In mid-May 2015, the ruins came under the control of Islamic State (ISIS) terrorists. © Styve Reineck, Shutterstock

Other World Book articles:

• Syria: The Roots of a Rebellion (A Special report)
• World Heritage List

September 23, 2014

Military forces from the United States and five Arab countries widened the war on the Islamic State (of Iraq and Syria)  (ISIS) by launching overnight the first air attacks on the jihadist group in Syria. American military officials said 14 strikes had destroyed or damaged ISIS training compounds, command and control facilities, vehicles, and storage sites in four Syrian provinces. Aircraft from Bahrain, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia participated in the attacks, while Qatar and the United Arab Emirates assisted in the operation. United States General Martin Dempsey, America’s highest-ranking uniformed military officer, said the strikes were conducted to show ISIS militants they had no safe haven. “We certainly achieved that,” he told reporters. The United States has already launched more than 190 air strikes against IS extremists in Iraq and has armed Iraqi and Kurdish forces fighting IS militants on the ground.

In recent months, the ISIS has taken control over great swaths of northern and western Iraq and eastern Syria. ISIS is a Sunni Muslim group known for its severe interpretation of the Shari`ah, the legal and moral code of Islam. The group specifically targets rival Shi`ite Muslims, Christians, and anyone else it deems an “enemy of Islam.” The group has become notorious for its extreme violence, including the mass executions of civilians and the barbarous beheading of enemy soldiers and Western journalists. Foreign affairs specialists noted the significance of such countries with a Sunni majority, like Jordan and Saudi Arabia, participating in the campaign against the ISIS.

A refugee camp in Jordan is one of many housing the millions of Syrians who have fled civil war and the advance of IS forces in their country. (AP)

The Syrian air strikes are aimed at halting IS advances in the eastern part of that country. On September 19, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said IS extremists had seized 60 Syrian Kurdish villages near the Turkish border in a two-day campaign. The fighting sent some 130,000 Syrian Kurds fleeing into Turkey last weekend. Most of the refugees were from Kobani, a predominantly Kurdish town near the Turkish border. Syrian Kurdish forces reportedly halted the jihadists’ advance amid fierce fighting. In response to the flood of refugees, Turkey closed some border crossings with Syria. Before this latest migration, there were already more than 1 million Syrian refugees in Turkey, people displaced by the uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad that began in 2011. International affairs experts noted that the Turkish government is apprehensive about allowing large numbers of Kurds to enter the country. For 30 years, Turkish forces fought Kurdish separatists in a rebellion that left 40,000 people dead. Turkey also apparently wished to prevent Kurdish refugees from returning to Syria to fight the ISIS.

Additional World Book articles:

• Kurdistan
• Umayyad caliphate
• Iraq War
• Iraq 2012 (a Back in Time article)
• Iraq 2013 (a Back in Time article)
• Syria 2013 (a Back in Time article)
• Syria: The Roots of a Rebellion (a special report)

August 20, 2014

A year-long project to destroy the deadliest chemical weapons in Syria’s military arsenal has been completed, United States President Barack Obama announced on August 18. The announcement came a few days before  the first anniversary of a 2013 chemical attack, allegedly by the forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, that killed more than 1,400 Syrians civilians, including hundreds of children. The destruction of the chemicals, said President Obama, “sends a clear message that the use of these abhorrent weapons has consequences and will not be tolerated by the international community.” The Assad government has been fighting an open, armed rebellion since 2011.

The neutralization of Syria’s chemical weapons represents a major foreign policy achievement for President Obama, who had threatened military strikes against Syrian forces for their use of the weapons. That threat was put on hold in late September 2013 after Syria began reporting details of its chemical weapons stockpile as part of a deal brokered by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. The deal specified that Syria was to submit a “comprehensive listing, including names, types, and quantities of its chemical weapons agents. . . .  .”  Syria also agreed to give United Nations inspectors “immediate and unfettered” access to all chemical weapons storage, production, research, and development sites.

A United Nations inspector examines dismantled equipment used during the 1980′s and 1990′s in Iraq’s chemical weapons program. (Reuters/Getty Images)

The destruction of the chemicals was overseen by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which won the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize. Based in The Hague, Netherlands, the OPCW was established to enforce the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention, which has contributed to the destruction of nearly 80 percent of the world’s stockpile of chemical weapons. About half of Syria’s 1,300-ton (1,180-metric-ton) stockpile was destroyed aboard the U.S.S. Cape Ray, an American military ship, in international waters. The rest of the chemicals were neutralized by facilities in the United Kingdom, Germany, and Finland.

While praising the destruction of the weapons as a “milestone,” Secretary of State Kerry also noted that questions about “discrepancies and omissions” in Syria’s weapons inventory remain. In addition, Syria has yet to destroy its chemical-weapons production facilities. Kerry also said that the Syrian government has continued to use chlorine gas against civilians, despite President Assad’s agreement to give up such attacks.

Additional World Book articles:

• Arab Spring
• The Middle East: From Fall to Spring (a special report)
• Syria: The Roots of Rebellion (a special report)
• Syria 2011 (a Back in Time article)
• Syria 2012 (a Back in Time article)
• Syria 2013 (a Back in Time article)

August 8, 2014

The United States launched air strikes in Iraq today against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), a radical Sunni Muslim jihadist group that now control large swathes of Iraq and Syria. The U.S. Department of Defense has confirmed that U.S. aircraft dropped 500-pound (227-kilogram) laser-guided bombs on artillery that was being used against Kurdish forces defending the northern Iraqi city of Arbil. President Barack Obama authorized the air strikes yesterday, but said he would not send U.S. ground troops back into Iraq. In late June, ISIS declared that it was establishing a caliphate on the territories it controls to be known simply as “the Islamic State” and will extend from Aleppo in northern Syria to Diyala province in eastern Iraq.

Yesterday, ISIS captured the city of Qaraqosh in Iraq’s Ninawa province after Kurdish forces withdraw in retreat. As many as 100,000 residents of Ninawa—many of them Christians—fled their homes for the autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq. Qaraqosh—which is largely a Christian city—is 19 miles (30 kilometers) southeast of the city of Mosul, which Isis captured in June. Most Christian families fled Mosul after ISIS gave them an ultimatum to convert, pay a special tax, or face death.

The U.S. Air Force today bombed ISIS artillery outside the Iraqi city of Arbil, which is just east of Mosul. Isis, a radical Sunni jihadist group, is now in control of large swaths of Iraq and Syria. (World Book map)

On August 6, a senior Kurdish official warned that tens of thousands of members of the Yezidi religious minority were trapped without water on a mountain to the west of Mosul. They face slaughter at the hands of Isis militants surrounding them below if they flee, or death by dehydration if they stay. The Sunni Jihadists regard the Yezidis as devil worshipers. The Yezidis fled their homes last weekend during an Isis offensive in which it took control of several towns in the northwest as well as an oil field and Iraq’s largest dam. The United Nations has confirmed that it had received credible reports that 40 Yezidi children had died “as a direct consequence of violence, displacement, and dehydration.”

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said today that the world needed to wake up to the threat posed by ISIS: Its “campaign of terror against the innocent, including the Yezidi and Christian minorities, and its grotesque targeted acts of violence show all the warning signs of genocide.”

Additional World Book articles:

• Umayyad caliphate
• Iraq War
• Iraq 2012 (a Back in Time article)
• Iraq 2013 (a Back in Time article)
• Syria 2013 (a Back in Time article)
• Syria: The Roots of a Rebellion (a special report)