The number of Syrians who have fled to Turkey, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon because of protracted fighting in the middle-eastern country has surpassed the 5 million mark, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said Thursday.

According to latest data collected by UNHCR and the government of Turkey, 5,018,168 Syrians have left their country to seek refuge in the region since Syria's conflict kicked off in March 2011.

Despite a high-level meeting on Syria last year that aimed to resettle 10 percent of all refugees by 2018, UNHCR warned that only 250,000 places for refugees have been made available to date.

"We still have a long road to travel in expanding resettlement and the number and range of complementary pathways available for refugees," said the UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi in a statement.

"To meet this challenge, we not only need additional places, but also need to accelerate the implementation of existing pledges," he added.

Source: Xinhua