A Syrian refugee who doused herself with petrol and set herself on fire after her aid was cut by the United Nations, was a victim of a lack of funding for the world body's work, an official for the organisation has said. Mariam al-Khawli, who fled to Lebanon from Syria with her husband and four children two years ago, set herself on fire outside U.N. offices last week in frustration at living without the food and cash lifeline provided by the organisation since August. While a teenager from central Syria became the millionth Syrian refugee to register in Lebanon today, earlier in the week Khawli explained how help given to her by the U.N. from August 2012 was stopped in August 2013. SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO . Mariam al-Khawli, who fled Syria with her husband and four children two years ago, set herself on fire last week in frustration at living without aid from the United Nations . A U.N. official has said Khawli was the victim of a lack of funding for the world body's work . She said: 'They told us they wouldn't cut support for those who have medical cases - my husband had a lung abscess and does not work.' Three of her children also have a blood condition and the family had relied on the aid. 'I chose death, I chose death rather than seeing my children die a million times in front of me,' she told a CNN reporter. Her story has become well known over the past days, after appearing in news outlets in Lebanon. 'I only told them food and beverage, we really got hungry,' she told Reuters. 'My four children are studying in schools, I said they can't work, their health situation doesn't allow them to work. 'I want them to study so they can get a job and relax, but they burned my heart before they burned my body. They burned my heart from the inside.' Her doctor, Gabriel al-Sabeh, said 70 . per cent of Khawli's body was now covered in burns and that she could . remain in hospital for months if she survives. Ninette . Kelley, regional representative for Lebanon at the Office of the United . Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, said: 'Right now we have close . to 1 million refugees and we are able to do a lot with the funding we . receive but we simply do not have enough.' Khawli's doctor, Gabriel al-Sabeh, said 70 per cent of her body was now covered in burns and that she could remain in hospital for months if she survives . She said Khawli's case was 'a very sorrowful reflection of the enormous desperation and need of the refugee community and it is also a telling reminder of the consequences of the Syrian emergency and the unfolding crisis here in Lebanon'. She said the agency had been in touch with Khawli's family 'for many, many months', but gave no details of why the funds were cut or how many other families might have been affected. U.N. aid teams in Lebanon give aid to the most vulnerable first and makes regular checks on families who are not covered, Kelley said. Last month, Lebanon's foreign minister said the crisis was 'threatening the existence of Lebanon', still recovering from its own bloody 15-year civil war that ended in 1990. Syrian beggars now walk the streets of Beirut and informal tented settlements have sprung up around the country. Khawli's husband is unable to work due to a lung abscess and three of her children have a blood condition. The family had relied on the aid . Syrian rebels and their Lebanese allies fight openly with the army and militants from the Lebanese Hezbollah militia, which supports Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in a war now in its fourth year. The United Nations says 2.5 million Syria refugees have registered in total, more than 10 per cent of Syria's population. Lebanon holds the largest number but Syrians have also fled to Turkey, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt and elsewhere. A U.N. appeal for $1.7 billion in 2014 to help the refugees is only 14 per cent funded, Kelley said. The mounting cost of the refugee crisis is also a major challenge for Lebanon's new government, which has to deal with strained public infrastructure as the Syrians seek housing, food, and healthcare at a time of economic slowdown in Lebanon. Showing how the conflict is spilling over, two missiles on Wednesday hit Al-Labwa, a Shi'ite town in Lebanon that has been hit before by Sunni militants in retaliation for Shi'ite Hezbollah's role in Syria. The strikes are the latest in a series of missile attacks, bomb explosions and gun fights that have grown as the Syria conflict has become increasingly sectarian.
Mariam al-Khawli fled Syria with husband and four children two years ago .
She set herself on fire last week in frustration at having her aid cut by U.N.
A U.N. official said she is a victim of a lack of funding for the body's work .
A teenager from central Syria today became the millionth refugee to register in Lebanon .
A Syrian refugee who doused herself with petrol and set herself on fire after her aid was cut by the United Nations, was a victim of a lack of funding for the world body's work, an official for the organisation has said. Mariam al-Khawli, who fled to Lebanon from Syria with her husband and four children two years ago, set herself on fire outside U.N. offices last week in frustration at living without the food and cash lifeline provided by the organisation since August. While a teenager from central Syria became the millionth Syrian refugee to register in Lebanon today, earlier in the week Khawli explained how help given to her by the U.N. from August 2012 was stopped in August 2013. SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO . Mariam al-Khawli, who fled Syria with her husband and four children two years ago, set herself on fire last week in frustration at living without aid from the United Nations . A U.N. official has said Khawli was the victim of a lack of funding for the world body's work . She said: 'They told us they wouldn't cut support for those who have medical cases - my husband had a lung abscess and does not work.' Three of her children also have a blood condition and the family had relied on the aid. 'I chose death, I chose death rather than seeing my children die a million times in front of me,' she told a CNN reporter. Her story has become well known over the past days, after appearing in news outlets in Lebanon. 'I only told them food and beverage, we really got hungry,' she told Reuters. 'My four children are studying in schools, I said they can't work, their health situation doesn't allow them to work. 'I want them to study so they can get a job and relax, but they burned my heart before they burned my body. They burned my heart from the inside.' Her doctor, Gabriel al-Sabeh, said 70 . per cent of Khawli's body was now covered in burns and that she could . remain in hospital for months if she survives. Ninette . Kelley, regional representative for Lebanon at the Office of the United . Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, said: 'Right now we have close . to 1 million refugees and we are able to do a lot with the funding we . receive but we simply do not have enough.' Khawli's doctor, Gabriel al-Sabeh, said 70 per cent of her body was now covered in burns and that she could remain in hospital for months if she survives . She said Khawli's case was 'a very sorrowful reflection of the enormous desperation and need of the refugee community and it is also a telling reminder of the consequences of the Syrian emergency and the unfolding crisis here in Lebanon'. She said the agency had been in touch with Khawli's family 'for many, many months', but gave no details of why the funds were cut or how many other families might have been affected. U.N. aid teams in Lebanon give aid to the most vulnerable first and makes regular checks on families who are not covered, Kelley said. Last month, Lebanon's foreign minister said the crisis was 'threatening the existence of Lebanon', still recovering from its own bloody 15-year civil war that ended in 1990. Syrian beggars now walk the streets of Beirut and informal tented settlements have sprung up around the country. Khawli's husband is unable to work due to a lung abscess and three of her children have a blood condition. The family had relied on the aid . Syrian rebels and their Lebanese allies fight openly with the army and militants from the Lebanese Hezbollah militia, which supports Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in a war now in its fourth year. The United Nations says 2.5 million Syria refugees have registered in total, more than 10 per cent of Syria's population. Lebanon holds the largest number but Syrians have also fled to Turkey, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt and elsewhere. A U.N. appeal for $1.7 billion in 2014 to help the refugees is only 14 per cent funded, Kelley said. The mounting cost of the refugee crisis is also a major challenge for Lebanon's new government, which has to deal with strained public infrastructure as the Syrians seek housing, food, and healthcare at a time of economic slowdown in Lebanon. Showing how the conflict is spilling over, two missiles on Wednesday hit Al-Labwa, a Shi'ite town in Lebanon that has been hit before by Sunni militants in retaliation for Shi'ite Hezbollah's role in Syria. The strikes are the latest in a series of missile attacks, bomb explosions and gun fights that have grown as the Syria conflict has become increasingly sectarian.
and set herself on fire after her aid was cut by for the organisation has said. Mariam al-Khawli, August. While a teenager from central Syria became the millionth Syrian refugee to register with her husband and four children two years ago, set herself on fire last week in frustration at U.N. official has said Khawli was the victim of a lack of funding for the world body's work . She