Moscow, Aug 26 (IANS/RIA Novosti): The number of refugees fleeing Syria for neighbouring nations has risen "well above" 200,000 as the violence intensifies, the UN refugee agency has said.

"There has been a dramatic increase in the number of (Syrian) refugees in the region during August, we're now at over 200,000 refugees in the region that's over and above our planning figure for all 2012 of 185,000 refugees in the region," said Adrian Edwards, a spokesperson for the UNHCR.

Meanwhile, government forces have continued their assault on rebel-held areas across the country.

More than 70 people have been killed in a suburb of the capital Damascus in three days, activists say.

Speaking at a news conference in Geneva, Edwards said a record 2,200 people crossed the border to Jordan Thursday night.

There are currently 150,000 Syrian refugees in Jordan, according to government estimates.

Turkish authorities said that more than 3,500 Syrians had arrived in the country till Friday, pushing the total number of Syrian refugees there to more than 78,000.

Around 51,000 Syrians have registered or applied to register with UNHCR in Lebanon, the agency said in a press release.