LATEST NEWS
UNHCR has observed that the return movement to Iraq that increased immediately after the imposition of new visa regulations appears to have subsided.
UNHCR and WFP have agreed to provide food distribution to 91% of registered Iraqi refugees as of February 2008 (150,000 refugees).
13 International NGOs have received finalized (MoUs) from the Syrian Government.
UNHCR is currently planning its future mobile registration missions in Aleppo, Homs, Hama and Tartous.
REFUGEE NUMBERS
No census has yet been completed for Iraqi refugees. However, based on Government estimates, reports from implementing partners and Registration, UNHCR estimates that 1.5 million Iraqis are currently in Syria.
To date, UNHCR has registered over 153,516 Iraqi refugees (53% male, 47% female).
18,969 registered since 2007 are classified as victims of torture/violence in Iraq.
21,546 registered since 2007 have an important medical condition.
2,654 registered since 2007 are considered to be women at risk.
REFUGEE MOVEMENTS
UNHCR did not see the large numbers they expected following the start of the military intervention in Iraq in 2003.
The bombing of the Golden Mosque of Samara in 2006 marked the decline into extreme sectarian violence that has forced hundreds of thousands of Iraqis from their homes.
From February 2006-October 2007 Syria received between 30,000-60,000 refugees each month.
A sharp decline in the number of Iraqis entering Syria was noted following the imposition of visa regulations in October 2007.
According to the immigration officials at Al-Tanf, the daily average number of those entering Syria from Iraq in late January is over 1,200 while an average of under 700 are going back to Iraq from Syria.