The following events have shocked the world and are a horrifying string signaling the major migration crisis in Europe:

A 3-year-old boy washes ashore on a Turkish beach.
Seventy-one migrants suffocate in a truck in Austria

Daily scenes of chaos unfolding in European cities as governments try to halt a human tide heading north. There seems to be no letup to the horrors triggered by Syria’s civil war.
The images have sparked an international uproar over the human cost of the crisis and spurred calls for serious action to end the country’s long-running war.
Here’s a look by the Associated Press on Thursday, September 3rd at the conflict and what compels Syrians to attempt the treacherous journey to Europe.

WHAT ARE THEY ESCAPING?
Barrel bombs, chemical weapons attacks, beheadings and starvation — to name just a few. Most of the refugees are driven by an overriding need to escape what has essentially become hell on earth, caught between Bashar Assad’s ruthless war machine and the ISIS group’s brutality. Many Syrians say most unbearable are the barrel bombs dropped daily on opposition-held areas by Syrian army helicopters. The makeshift, shrapnel-packed explosive devices known by Syrians as death barrels pulverize entire neighborhoods once they hit the ground. They have killed tens of thousands of people over the past four years, according to human rights organizations. ISIS militants have also been responsible for the exodus out of Syria. The militant group’s takeover of a key town on the Turkish border in June, for instance, triggered a rush of desperate refugees pouring into Turkey, with some throwing their children over the border fence in a desperate attempt to get them to safety.

WHAT ARE THE NUMBERS?
Syria’s brutal conflict, now in its fifth year, has touched off the greatest humanitarian crisis of our time, according to U.N. officials. The organization estimates that around 250,000 people have been killed and more than one million wounded since March 2011. About half the country’s prewar population of 23 million has been displaced, including more than 4 million who have fled Syria. Tactics such as encircling populated areas have caused untold cases of starvation, malnutrition and chronic illness. The U.N. refugee agency says Syria is the leading source of refugees, pushing Afghanistan — which had held that status for more than 30 years — down to second place. A U.N. report released Thursday said more than 2,000 Syrians refugees have drowned in desperate efforts to reach safety in Europe since 2011.

WHY DO THEY GO TO EUROPE?
For many Syrians, a perilous journey to Europe with an uncertain future is better than certain death in Syria. Many say their overriding goal is to secure a better future for their children. Some of Syria’s neighbors, which initially took in hundreds of thousands of refugees, say they can no longer afford to host them. Some have closed their borders while others are enforcing restrictions that increasingly make it difficult for them to stay or find work. Gulf countries are not taking refugees, and countries like Iraq and Lebanon are unstable, making the idea of life in Europe more appealing.