UN High Commissioner for Refugees Guterres calls for more action on Syria

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees on Wednesday reiterated his warning of an "explosion" in the Middle East if the Syrian conflict continues and called on governments to approve "extraordinary funds" to meet a growing humanitarian crisis.

"I don't think the international community would have the capacity not only to deal with the humanitarian consequences of that, but to deal with the political, security and peace problems that that would generate in the region and worldwide," Guterres said at a news conference in Amman, drawing on a similar statement made last week in Ankara, Turkey.

Guterres said international aid so far has been insufficient to assist burgeoning Syrian refugee numbers, up to 8,000 a day last month from 3,000 in December.

Host countries like Jordan are bearing enormous strain, he said.

UNHCR is anticipating that refugee numbers could "double, even triple" by the year's end, threatening regional security, he added.

Guterres ruled out establishing a "buffer zone," saying the international community must seriously step up financial aid to help Syrians internally displaced and refugees alike.

Some 2.5 (M) million Syrians are internally displaced and another 1 (M) million have fled to bordering countries as refugees, according to UN figures.

The United Nations estimates more than 70,000 people have been killed in the Syrian civil war, which started two years ago as a popular uprising against President Bashar Assad's authoritarian rule.