Armenia Shelters Over 20,000 Syrian Refugees

Armenia accepted more than 20,000 refugees from Syria, Deputy Foreign Minister Ashot Hovakimian said.

YEREVAN (Sputnik) – Armenia accepted more than 20,000 refugees from Syria thus becoming third in Europe with the number of refugees from Syria per capita, Deputy Foreign Minister Ashot Hovakimian said.

"Armenia gave asylum to more than 20,000 refugees from Syria. Armenia thus became the third state in Europe with the number of Syrian refugees per capita," Hovakimian said addressing the 67th session of the Executive Committee of the Programme of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on Tuesday, as quoted by the Foreign Ministry of Armenia.

Armenian diaspora was one of the biggest communities in Syria before eruption of the civil war. About 110,000 Armenians lived in Syria with more than 60,000 having lived in Aleppo, and about 7,000 in Damascus. Over 90,000 Armenians left the country after the conflict had started.

Syria has been mired in civil war since 2011, with government forces loyal to President Bashar Assad fighting numerous opposition groups, as well as terrorist formations such as the Islamic State (Daesh) and Jabhat Fatah al Sham (formerly known as al-Nusra Front), both outlawed in Russia.