The U.N. Refugee Agency reported Friday that the number of refugees, asylum-seekers, and internally displaced people worldwide has exceeded 50 million for the first time since World War II. “We are seeing here the immense costs of not ending wars, of failing to resolve or prevent conflict,” said UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres. “Peace is today dangerously in deficit.”
According to the agency’s Global Trends report, 51.2 million people were displaced at the end of last year by conflicts ranging from Syria to South Sudan, adding 6 million to the previous year’s count. Here are three developments from the past week that are contributing to the recent surge in refugees:
MORE There Are Now More Displaced People Than Any Time Since WWII | ThinkProgress.