Syria's accelerating humanitarian crisis hit a grim milestone Wednesday: The number of U.N.-registered refugees topped 1 million — half of them children — described by an aid worker as a "human river" of thousands spilling out of the war-ravaged country every day.
Syria's 22-month-long civil war has created a refugee crisis of historic proportions that threatens to destabilize countries in the Middle East and has far outpaced the ability of foreign governments and global relief agencies to respond, says a top U.N. official.
At least 11,000 Syrians poured into neighboring countries in a single day, U.N. officials said Friday, in a dramatic surge in the exodus of refugees fueled by heavy battles between regime forces and rebels for control of a border town.
Libyan forces loyal to Col. Moammar Gadhafi shelled villages and towns to try to take control of the high ground in a western mountain range, while a U.N. official appealed for global assistance for some 2 million people displaced by fighting between Col. Gadhafi's forces and rebels trying to oust him.
