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Conditions deteriorate for 2,000 Palestinians stuck at Iraq-Syria border

News Stories, 9 November 2007

© UNHCR/J.Wreford
Palestinians fleeing death threats in Baghdad are stranded at the Syrian border amid deteriorating weather conditions as winter begins.

GENEVA, 9 November (UNHCR) – The UN refugee agency warned on Friday that the situation for Palestinians trapped in camps at the Iraq-Syria border was becoming very precarious, with nearly 2,000 people facing deteriorating weather conditions.

The population of Al Tanf camp in the no-man's land between Iraq and Syria increased to 437 in recent weeks when Syrian authorities took to the camp an additional 97 Palestinians who had fled from Iraq into Syria during the past year on forged documents.

Another camp inside Iraq, Al Waleed, is currently hosting 1,560 Palestinian refugees and the number is expected to increase as new families continue to arrive at the camp. UNHCR estimates some 13,000 Palestinians are still living in Baghdad.

UNHCR staff report that 30-40 persons arrive on a weekly basis fleeing ongoing threats and attacks in Baghdad. The conditions in the camp, located in the desert near the border with Syria, are harsh, especially with the approaching winter.

"We are increasingly worried about the plight of Palestinian refugees, particularly the women, children and elderly, who remain stuck on the border between Iraq and Syria," said Andrew Harper, head of UNHCR's Iraq Support Unit.

"This group, which has already suffered greatly, now face deteriorating conditions as winter approaches. They are stuck in tents with little or no protection from violent sandstorms," he said. "We are continuing to talk to several governments, both within and outside the region, to seek the urgent relocation of this group."

UNHCR is seeking solutions for the refugees both within and outside the region. Earlier this year, the UN refugee agency appealed for specific support and urgent medical resettlement for vulnerable and sick children in Al Waleed camp as they are unable to find medical treatment in Iraq.

So far UNHCR has resettled one family of eight with several sick children from the camp to Norway in August. Another 11 medical cases submitted for resettlement are awaiting approval. Meanwhile, UNHCR staff continue to identify other Palestinian medical cases, such as cancer patients and children with birth defects, who need urgent care. So far, UNHCR has only had positive indications from Chile and Sudan and continues to look for additional solutions.

UNHCR has been working closely with partners such as the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Palestinian and Syrian Red Crescent Societies to improve the living conditions of the refugees in the camps.

However, there has been some good news for the Palestinians. On Monday, Ruweished camp in Jordan was emptied when the last families left for resettlement in Brazil. The camp, which once provided shelter for some 1,000 refugees, is not expected to reopen.

Located about 70 kilometres from the border with Iraq, it was set up in 2003 and housed Somalis and Iranian Kurds as well as Palestinians and Iraqis fleeing violence in Iraq. Most were resettled in third countries, including Australia, Canada, Denmark, New Zealand, Sweden and the United States.

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Related Stories

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UNHCR Iraq Fact Sheet

Camp New Iraq (formerly Camp Ashraf) residents and the determination of their refugee status claims

UNHCR Syria Fact Sheet

Published November 2011

Crisis in Iraq: Displacement

UNHCR and its partners estimate that out of a total population of 26 million, some 1.9 million Iraqis are currently displaced internally and more than 2 million others have fled to nearby countries. While many people were displaced before 2003, increasing numbers of Iraqis are now fleeing escalating sectarian, ethnic and general violence. Since January 2006, UNHCR estimates that more than 800,000 Iraqis have been uprooted and that 40,000 to 50,000 continue to flee their homes every month. UNHCR anticipates there will be approximately 2.3 million internally displaced people within Iraq by the end of 2007. The refugee agency and its partners have provided emergency assistance, shelter and legal aid to displaced Iraqis where security has allowed.

In January 2007, UNHCR launched an initial appeal for US$60 million to fund its Iraq programme. Despite security issues for humanitarian workers inside the country, UNHCR and partners hope to continue helping up to 250,000 of the most vulnerable internally displaced Iraqis and their host communities

Posted on 12 June 2007

Crisis in Iraq: Displacement

Non-Iraqi Refugees in Jordan

After Saddam Hussein's regime was toppled in Iraq in 2003, groups of refugees who had lived in the country for many years tried to leave the chaos and lawlessness that soon ensued. Hundreds of people started fleeing to the border with Jordan, including Palestinians in Baghdad and Iranian Kurds from the Al Tash refugee camp in central Iraq.

Aside from a few Palestinians with family connections inside the neighbouring country, the refugees were refused entry and free movement in Jordan. Thousands were soon stranded in the no-man's land between Iraq and Jordan or at the desert camp of Ruweished, located 60 kilometres inside Jordan.

Since 2003, Palestinians, Iranian Kurds, Iranians, Sudanese and Somalis have been living there and suffering the scorching heat and freezing winters of the Jordanian desert. UNHCR and its partners have provided housing and assistance and tried to find solutions – the agency has helped resettle more than 1,000 people in third countries. At the beginning of 2007, a total of 119 people – mostly Palestinians – remained in Ruweished camp without any immediate solution in sight.

Posted on 20 February 2007

Non-Iraqi Refugees in Jordan

Iraqi Refugees in Jordan

The UN refugee agency has launched a US$60 million appeal to fund its work helping hundreds of thousands of Iraqi refugees and internally displaced people. The new appeal concludes that unremitting violence in Iraq will likely mean continued mass internal and external displacement affecting much of the surrounding region. The appeal notes that the current exodus is the largest long-term population movement in the Middle East since the displacement of Palestinians following the creation of Israel in 1948.

UNHCR has warned that the longer this conflict goes on, the more difficult it will become for the hundreds of thousands of displaced and the communities that are trying to help them – both inside and outside Iraq. Because the burden on host communities and governments in the region is enormous, it is essential that the international community support humanitarian efforts.

The US$60 million will cover UNHCR's protection and assistance programmes for Iraqi refugees in Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt and Turkey, as well as non-Iraqi refugees and internally displaced people within Iraq itself.

Posted on 10 January 2007

Iraqi Refugees in Jordan

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