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The number of Syrians refugees could double -- if not triple -- by the end of the year if the crisis continues without change, a U.N. official said Sunday.

Since the civil war began two years ago, more than 1 million have fled the country.

The number of refugees recorded has gone from 3,000 on average each day in December to 8,000 daily in February, said U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres in Ankara, Turkey, on Sunday.

"Now if this escalation goes on --- and nothing happens to solve the problem -- we might have in the end of the year a much larger number of refugees, two of three times [of] the present level."