Iraqis flee to Jordan to escape violence

AMMAN, Jordan, Feb. 16 (UPI) -- The United Nations says escalating violence in Iraq has sent some 700,000 refugees into Jordan, creating a problem for a nation of only 5.5 million.

Some of the refugees have been granted temporary residency in Jordan while others are staying in the country illegally, Voice of America reports.

A Jordanian government spokesman said the presence of so many Iraqis or other non-Jordanians does put a strain on the country's natural resources but added there are no plans to deny them entry.

Unlike the typical refugee, Iraqis fleeing to Jordan have skills and money, said Dr. Joost Hiltermann, Middle East project director with the International Crisis Group in Amman.

"These refugees, they are not the poor bedraggled masses that come walking across the border and end up in tents," Hiltermann said. "This is still the relatively wealthy middle class of Iraq who are coming here in order to find protection from the violence, school for their children, a relatively normal life."

The U.N. estimates nearly 2 million Iraqis are leaving the country and has asked for $60 million in emergency funds.