Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

This question refers to the greatest humanitarian crisis of modern times. Up to 2.3 million Syrian people are refugees in neighbouring countries, half of whom are children. Up to 6.5 million people have been displaced internally with upwards of 130,000 murdered. Foreign fighters began arriving in earnest in Syria in early 2012, a year after peaceful protests against the al-Assad regime were violently suppressed and an armed revolt then ensued. Up to 11,000 fighters from more than 70 nations have joined the struggle in Syria against the president, Mr. al-Assad.

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