GENEVA, Switzerland, Jan. 8 (UPI) -- The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees has appealed for $60 million to help Iraqis fleeing violence.
In a statement released at its Geneva, headquarters Monday, the agency said the funds would help finance protection and assistance programs for refugees and internally displaced people affected by the Iraq conflict in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Turkey.
The agency said the flow of people from Iraq is the largest long-term population movement in the Middle East since the displacement of the Palestinians with the creation of Israel in 1948.
"The longer this conflict goes on, the more difficult it becomes for the hundreds of thousands of people displaced and the communities that are trying to help them -- both inside and outside Iraq," said U.N. High Commissioner Antonio Guterres.
It is planned that 200,000 of the most vulnerable IDPs will be assisted by the funding the agency receives. Most are now living in urban areas such as Amman, Jordan, and Damascus, Syria.
About one out of every eight Iraqis is now displaced. The agency now estimates 40,000 to 50,000 flee their homes every month, with up to 2.3 million IDPs expected by the end of 2007.
Estimates of Iraqis who have fled to neighboring states include 500,000 to 1 million in Syria; up to 700,000 in Jordan; up to 80,000 in Egypt, and up to 40,000 in Lebanon, the agency said. Turkey has an unknown number of refugees.
