Ottawa will resettle 1,300 Syrian refugees to Canada from Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey over two years to address the deepening humanitarian crisis there, says Immigration Minister Jason Kenney.

The announcement on Wednesday came a month after the Syrian Canadian community made a public appeal urging the federal government to establish a special program for displaced refugees caught up in the two-year-old civil war between Syrian President Bashar Assad and the opposition.

The latest United Nations data shows more than 4.25 million Syrians are internally displaced and more than 1.6 million have fled to neighbouring countries.

“Our focus . . . is finding a long-term political solution to the crisis there,” Kenney told a news conference in Edmonton. “Our country is making an important effort to ensure the most vulnerable Syrian refugees are provided protection.”

A coalition representing Canada’s 100,000-strong Syrian community welcomed the announcement, but worry about the lengthy screening and processing involved in the resettlement program.

“It is a step in the right direction. They finally recognized the crisis in Syria, which is the largest refugee crisis in the world today,” said Faisal Alazem of the Syrian Canadian Council in Montreal, one of seven groups involved in the coalition that met with Kenney in June.

Two hundreds of the 1,300 Syrian refugees will be resettled with financial support by the Canadian government, while the rest will be assisted by community and faith groups that have sponsorship agreements with Ottawa.

Last month, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced an extra $115 million in assistance to help Syrian refugees in Syria and neighbouring countries.

Alazem said the community was hoping Ottawa would offer speedy relief to help Syrian Canadians bring their loved ones to Canada by issuing temporary visas.

“This is not ideal. The (resettlement) process can take up to two years,” said Alazem. “It is going to be a long road. Time is crucial to alleviate the refugees’ suffering.”

Kenney said Ottawa cannot open its doors to all Syrian refugees but will provide $1 million to fund five staff members to directly assist with the resettlement of displaced Syrians in Turkey, Jordan, Egypt and Lebanon.

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