1m Syrian children are refugees

UNHCR Special Envoy Angelina Jolie has said today that the situation in Syria is "sickening" in a statement, after it was revealed today that the number of Syrian children forced to flee their homeland as refugees has hit one million.

The actress added: "Thousands of innocent young boys and girls have lost their lives in horrific circumstances, including in recent attacks near Damascus. And now one million Syrian children are struggling to survive as refugees in heart-breaking conditions."

"Each one of these child refugees is an innocent victim of a senseless conflict. These vulnerable children need shelter, food and assistance. But above all, they need security."

The international community must not look away from Syria, they must renew the search for peace with urgency and determination."

Newborn babies are among thousands of refugees being treated by aid workers after fleeing the Syrian conflict into Iraqi Kurdistan.

More than 42,300 Syrians have crossed the border since it reopened on August 15, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) has said, receiving water and care before being transferred to refugee camps.

Watch: Dom Joly says children 'should not have to go through this'

Aid organisations are stretched to breaking point as Syria becomes the "largest refugee crisis in a generation," one charity told Daybreak.

Nicole Itano from the charity Save The Children said "the numbers just keep increasing every day" and 10,000 Syrian refugees had arrived in the Iraq camp in "a single day".

The conditions in the Syrian refugee camp in Iraq are "frantic" and "chaotic" with refugees struggling to get clean water, UNICEF spokesman Jaya Murthy told Daybreak.

However, volunteers at the camp were working closely with the Kurdistan Regional Government to make sure refugees needs were met.

Comedian Dom Joly, who visited the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan with Save The Children, said "no kid should have to go through what they are going through here".

The number of Syrian children forced to flee their homeland as refugees has hit one million, a charity warned.

Children make up half of the refugees from the Syrian conflict with most arriving in Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt, UNICEF and the UN's refugee agency said.

Around 740,000 Syrian refugees are believed to be under the age of 11.