This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/dec/29/syrian-refugees-lebanon-jordan-un-envoy
The article has changed 7 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Syrian refugee influx could break Lebanon and Jordan, UN envoy warns | Syrian refugee influx could break Lebanon and Jordan, UN envoy warns |
| (30 days later) | |
| The United Nations envoy for Syria has warned that further violence could create waves of refugees which may destabilise neighbouring countries. | The United Nations envoy for Syria has warned that further violence could create waves of refugees which may destabilise neighbouring countries. |
| Lakhdar Brahimi said: "If you have a panic in Damascus and if you have 1 million people leaving Damascus in a panic, they can go to only two places, Lebanon and Jordan." | Lakhdar Brahimi said: "If you have a panic in Damascus and if you have 1 million people leaving Damascus in a panic, they can go to only two places, Lebanon and Jordan." |
| Both those countries could break if faced with half a million refugees, he said on Saturday after meeting the Russian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, in Moscow. | Both those countries could break if faced with half a million refugees, he said on Saturday after meeting the Russian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, in Moscow. |
| "If the only alternative is really hell or a political process, then we have got, all of us, to work ceaselessly for a political process," he said. | "If the only alternative is really hell or a political process, then we have got, all of us, to work ceaselessly for a political process," he said. |
| Neither Brahimi nor Lavrov gave an indication of progress toward resolving the 21-month-old conflict in which an estimated 40,000 people have died. | Neither Brahimi nor Lavrov gave an indication of progress toward resolving the 21-month-old conflict in which an estimated 40,000 people have died. |
| Lavrov said the demand by the Syrian opposition that President Bashar al-Assad step down as a precondition to talks was incorrect and counterproductive. | Lavrov said the demand by the Syrian opposition that President Bashar al-Assad step down as a precondition to talks was incorrect and counterproductive. |
| "The price for that precondition will be the loss of more Syrian lives," he said. | "The price for that precondition will be the loss of more Syrian lives," he said. |
| Meanwhile, in Syria government forces have pushed rebels from a district in Homs after several days of fierce fighting, opposition activists said on Saturday. | Meanwhile, in Syria government forces have pushed rebels from a district in Homs after several days of fierce fighting, opposition activists said on Saturday. |
| The army moved into Deir Baalba, a neighbourhood on the north-eastern edge of Homs, leaving the rebels in control of just the central neighbourhoods around the old city and the district of Khalidiya, immediately to the north. | The army moved into Deir Baalba, a neighbourhood on the north-eastern edge of Homs, leaving the rebels in control of just the central neighbourhoods around the old city and the district of Khalidiya, immediately to the north. |
| Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. | |
| Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. Enter your email address to subscribe. |