GENEVA, Switzerland, Dec. 20 (UPI) -- The Syrian civil war contributed to a sharp jump in the number of refugess worldwide in the first six months of 2013, U.N. officials said Friday.
In a report, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees called January through June "one of the worst periods for forced displacement in decades." The Mid-Year Trends 2013 report said there were at least 5.9 million displaced people in the first half of the year, compared to 7.2 million for all of 2012.