DAMASCUS, Syria, Aug. 28 (UPI) -- Actress and activist Angelina Jolie is visiting Iraq and Syria on a humanitarian fact-finding mission, the United Nations refugee agency said.
The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Goodwill Ambassador flew from New York to Syria Monday, where she spent several hours talking to Iraqi refugees, People magazine reported Tuesday.
She was scheduled to travel into Iraq Tuesday to meet 1,200 refugees camped at the boarder.
"I have come to Syria and Iraq to help draw attention to the humanitarian crisis and to urge governments to increase their support for UNHCR and its partners," Jolie said in a statement. "My sole purpose in both countries is to highlight the plight of those uprooted by the war in Iraq."
After her Tuesday meeting with Iraqis at the Al Waleed camp, Jolie said it was "absolutely essential" that the discussions about Iraq's future include "the enormous humanitarian consequences these people face."
Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees protects and supports refugees at the request of a government or the United Nations, and helps in refugees' return or resettlement.
