There are now over one million child refugees because of the war in Syria. The United Nations called this number "a shameful milestone". The children were forced to leave Syria because it is too dangerous for them to stay in the country. Most of them are in Jordan, Turkey and Lebanon. They have recently started escaping to Europe and North Africa. The United Nations said: "This one millionth child refugee is not just another number. This is a real child ripped from home, maybe even from a family, facing horrors we can only begin to comprehend." Another 2 million children in Syria have no home. Half of Syria's 2 million refugees are children. Over 740,000 of these are under the age of eleven.

Syria's civil war started in March 2011. The UN says it is the worst refugee crisis for 20 years. The last situation as bad as Syria was the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. The UN high commissioner for refugees, Antonio Guterres, told reporters: "The youth of Syria are losing their homes, their family members and their futures. Even after they have crossed a border to safety, they are traumatised, depressed and in need of a reason for hope." The UN warned the world that the children face many dangers. Many are now used illegally for child labour. Others are sold for early marriages or for the sex trade. Very few of the children can go to any kind of school. The UN said just 118,000 of the children are in education.