U.S.: $18 million for Iraqi refugees

WASHINGTON, Feb. 15 (UPI) -- The United States said it will accept 7,000 Iraqi refugees and will give $18 million to the U.N. refugee agency for operations in Iraq.

The announcement was made Wednesday after a meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Antonio Guterres, chief of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. Guterres is trying to raise $60 million for the refugee agency's 2007 Iraq operation.

An estimated 40,000 to 50,000 Iraqis flee their homes every month; while 2 million Iraqi refugees have already fled to neighboring countries, primarily Syria and Jordan, said the U.N. refugee agency.

"Syria and Jordan have been very generous in welcoming Iraqis," said Guterres in a press release. "But with the increasing numbers their situation is becoming more and more difficult to bear."

U.N. refugee offices in Damascus and Amman have been deluged with refugees -- over 5,000 people applied for refugee status in Damascus on Sunday and Monday, while another 700 applied in Amman, said Ron Redmond, spokesman for UNHCR.

Many Iraqis fear they will be forced to leave Syria under newly reinforced Syrian immigration regulations, despite Syrian government assurances to Guterres that Iraqis will be allowed to stay, said Redmond.