Geneva — Devastating conflicts, violence and persecution in places like Syria and South Sudan left a record 65.6-million people uprooted from their homes by the end of 2016, the United Nations says. That number marks a jump of just 300,000 from the end of 2015, but is more than 6-million higher than at the end of 2014, according to a fresh report published by the UN refugee agency. This is "the highest figure since we started recording these figures", UNHCR chief Filippo Grandi told reporters ahead of the report launch. "By any measure, this is an unacceptable number, and it speaks louder than ever to the need for solidarity and common purpose in preventing and resolving crises," he said. The figures — released ahead of World Refugee Day, which is on June 20 — showed that a full 10.3-million of the world’s displaced people fled their homes last year alone, including 3.4-million who crossed international borders to become refugees. "This equates to one person becoming displaced every...

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