CNN: U.N. refugee agency: Exodus in Iraq (1.6 M) forces priority shift

[DeepModem Mom]

U.N. refugee agency: Exodus in Iraq forces priority shift
October 13, 2006


An Iraqi girl gets water at a refugee camp in the Shula district in Baghdad earlier this year.

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- The United Nations estimates that up to 1.6 million Iraqis have left their homes for other countries in "a steady, silent exodus" as a result of the war and sectarian violence, forcing the U.N. refugee agency to announce a shift in priorities.

The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said it plans to focus on the deteriorating humanitarian situation facing people who are fleeing, as opposed to those returning home.

"The enormous scale of the needs, the ongoing violence and the difficulties in reaching the displaced make it a problem that is practically beyond the capacity of humanitarian agencies, including UNHCR," it said....

***

At least 40,000 Iraqis a month were arriving in Syria, according to U.N. staffers monitoring the border. Refugees have also fled to Iran, and "tens of thousands" are headed to Turkey, Lebanon, Egypt, the Gulf states and Europe," the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said.

The agency estimated there are half a million Iraqis already in Jordan and 450,000 in Syria, adding that while some have been outside Iraq for a decade or more, arrivals have steadily risen since the war began in 2003.

Within Iraq itself, the Iraqi government and UNHCR estimate "more than 1.5 million people displaced...including more than 365,000 newly displaced who have fled their homes and communities" since February....

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/10/13/iraq.main/index.html

[BattyDem]

1. Tell me again ....

How exactly did we make their lives better by "liberating" them? :eyes:

[Up2Late]

2. I'm sure the WH line will be...

...something like, "...why don't the ever report about the 24 Million Iraqis who haven't fled their homes in terror...":banghead: :grr:

[Brundle_Fly]

3. it's truly amazing the level

of tolerence the Iraqi's will go through to fight for their freedom



icky :sarcasm:

[wakeme2008]

4. One has to wonder about Riverbend and her not posting

:scared:

http://riverbendblog.blogspot.com/

[magellan]

5. OMG, that photo is sad. Isn't lightening of hair a sign of malnutrition

...in children?

K&R for the kids who can't escape, and for all Iraqis who've been forced to leave their homes to find safety.

And god damn the Bush** administration to hell.