Five countries host 98% of Syrian refugees as rich nations fail millions, Amnesty warns

Rich countries are failing Syrian refugees who are victims of more than a three-year-long conflict, Amnesty International has warned.

In its new report, Left Out in the Cold, the NGO says that only five countries, Iraq, Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan and Egypt, have hosted 98% of Syrian refugees since the start of the crisis, while in the EU the number of refugees is 150,000.

This figure is very similar to the number of people who reached Turkey fleeing the advance of terror group Islamic State (Isis) on Kobani in the space of one week in September 2014.

Sweden and Germany have received the majority of Syrian asylum applications in the last three years; 50,235 and 46,265 respectively.

"The international community has largely stood on the side-lines, promising support to Syrians
and countries hosting them but, in reality, delivering little," the report said.

"The international community has obligations to provide humanitarian assistance and
cooperation in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations (UN) and relevant
resolutions of the UN General Assembly, during times of emergency. This includes assistance
to refugees."

Amnesty put emphasis on the responsibilities of the Gulf states.

"The complete absence of resettlement pledges from the Gulf is particularly shameful," the report continued. "Linguistic and religious ties should place the Gulf states at the forefront of those offering safe shelter to refugees fleeing persecution and war crimes in Syria."

The report comes only a few days after the UN's World Food Programme (WFP) warned that at least 2 million Syrian refugees are facing a food crisis as the organisation stopped deliveries of aid due to a shortfall of $64m (£40m).

In January, the UN urged donor countries to pledge more money to help displaced Syrians, saying that the money offered until that moment represented only half of the funds needed to support people.

The UN's appeal followed Amnesty's warning of the risk of mass starvation in Syria.

Philip Luther, director of Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa Programme, previously said: "The world's response to the Syria crisis has been woefully inadequate. At the end of 2013 the UN humanitarian appeal - the largest in the organisation's history - was just 70%-funded."

The Syrian civil war has pitted President Bashar al-Assad supporters against rebels, causing the deaths of hundreds of thousands of civilians.

According to latest estimates, at least 191,000 people have been killed in the conflict while millions have fled their homes.

It is estimated that 6.5 million Syrians are internally displaced; of these, half are children.