More than 2.5M have fled Ukraine, as Turkish civilians reportedly caught in Mariupol bombing
The numbers of people fleeing Ukraine are current at nearly 2.6 million, according to the United Nations on Saturday.
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UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said that as of Saturday afternoon, here were 2,597,543 refugees who had fled Ukraine so far, the largest exodus since World War II.
UNHCR estimates that four million could flee, but added that this figure could be revised upwards in a country of 37 million in the regions that the government controls, not including Crimea and separatist regions in the east. Numbers overall have slightly dipped from Friday.
Before the conflict, Ukraine had a population of some 37 million in the regions under its control, excluding Russia-annexed Crimea and the pro-Russian separatist regions in the east.
More than half of those crossing the border have come into Poland.
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A large number are going back into Ukraine, either to fight, to bring their families out, or to take care of elderly relatives.
Some 1.5 million Ukrainians lived and worked in Poland before the crisis.
Hungary and Slovakia are taking in 235,500 and 186,600, respectively, while the majority of those who entered Romania are only using it as a transit zone. It is the same for Moldova, one of the poorest countries in Europe, as people are entering the country and then going on to Romania or Hungary.
And as of Thursday, 106,000 people from Ukraine had sought shelter in Russia.
Overall, UNHCR says about 304,000 people have travelled on to other European countries, including France and Germany.
Mosque bombing hits Turkish civilians
A mosque hosting 86 civilians, many whom are reportedly Turkish, was bombed in Mariupol, Ukraine on Saturday, according to the country’s foreign ministry.
The mosque of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent and his wife Roxolana (Hurrem Sultan) in Mariupol was shelled by Russian invaders.
— MFA of Ukraine 🇺🇦 (@MFA_Ukraine) March 12, 2022
More than 80 adults and children are hiding there from the shelling, including citizens of Turkey. #StopRussianAggression#closeUAskyNOW pic.twitter.com/Uel5AoyZUt
It was the designated safe place that the Turkish consulate in Odesa, southern Ukraine, told its nationals on Twitter to shelter in before an evacuation from the country.
The Ukrainian embassy in Ankara also confirmed to French newswire AFP on Saturday that it had alerted the Turkish Foreign Ministry but would not give further details.
On Friday, Petro Andryushchenko, the deputy mayor of Mariupol, had posted in English and Ukrainian that the area around the mosque was being bombed.
“Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan must know that […] 86 Turkish citizens are currently hiding in the mosque, including 34 children. At the moment, the Russian army is bombarding the area including the mosque,” he posted.
“Will the leader of the (Turkish) nation calmly observe the inhuman annihilation of Turkish citizens, limiting himself to guaranteeing senseless negotiations between the Russian Federation and Ukraine?,” he added.
Turkey is a close ally of Ukraine, but has refused to take sides, and has not cut ties to Moscow.
Ankara had tried to mediate between the two countries, and their work resulted in foreign ministers from both sides meeting in Antalya in the south on Thursday.
Relatives in Turkey are worried about their family members who they believe went to the mosque.
“My brother, Sahin Beytemur, has been living in Mariupol for eight years […] We haven't heard from him since last Saturday. He told us that they would go to the mosque if the situation got worse,” the sister of Beytemur told AFP.
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