Refugees rise by 704,000 in six months

The number of Syrian refugees grew by 704,000 in the first six months of last year to become the largest group under the UN refugee agency's mandate, a United Nations report said on Wednesday.

The report was based on a midyear review conducted in June 2014, which forecast the number of Syrian refugees could rise to 4.27 million by December, from a figure of more than 3 million in June.

The report was released after the head of the UN refugee agency warned on Tuesday of the worst displacement problem in seven decades.