The United States will take in between 5,000 and 8,000 Syrian refugees in 2016, the State Department said Monday.
"We expect to welcome between 1,000 and 2,000 Syrian refugees this fiscal year, and 5,000 to 8,000 Syrian refugees in next fiscal year, 2016," State Department spokesman John Kirby said, reported CNS News.
Since civil war broke out in Syria in 2011, more than 4 million Syrians have become homeless, in what has been described as the largest humanitarian crisis in the world, according to NPR.
Kirby said that the U.S. was the leading country to accept refugees and provide financial aid for resettlement efforts. While the U.S. has contributed $4 billion to help resettle refugees, less than 1,000 Syrians have been allowed to come to the U.S. as of June. The United Nations has reportedly referred a total of 15,000 Syrian refugees to the U.S., reported Reuters.
Kirby stressed that aforementioned U.S. aid work was "not the metric of success," suggesting that true success would come only when Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is ousted, which the U.S. is covertly working to do by training and arming so-called moderate rebels.
"Accepting refugees is one aspect. But really, it's about helping, in short -- because most of these people want to go home, and you can expect that that's understandable," Kirby said.
"What we're really committed to is helping to foster the kind of political transition inside Syria, so that it is a safe environment for Syrian people to return, including the millions that are seeking refuge in Turkey right now," Kirby said, according to CNS.
