UNHCR struggling with Iraqi refugees

DAMASCUS, Syria, Oct. 28 (UPI) -- Strict visa requirements, low incomes and a risky return home are forcing Iraqi refugee living in Syria to look abroad for a new home, U.N. officials say.

Damascus reports as many as 1.1 million Iraqis crossing into the country since 2007. More are expected in the wake of the Aug. 19 and Oct. 25 attacks in Baghdad, the U.N. refugee agency, UNHCR, said.

Andrej Mahecic, spokesman for UNHCR, told a delegation in Geneva earlier this month that the United Nations recommended the resettlement of more than 80,000 Iraqi refugees to other countries.

Few Iraqis, meanwhile, have taken advantage of a U.N. repatriation program, though U.N. officials point to a growing number of refugees returning home.

"Resettlement is only offered to a small percentage of refugees -- less than 10 percent of the overall number (of those who apply for resettlement) are submitted, and from this 10 percent, a much smaller number actually get to go," said Farah Dakhlallah, a UNHCR spokesperson in Damascus.

U.N. officials have called on potential host countries, meanwhile, to expedite their assistance for the settlement of Iraqi refugees, the U.N.'s humanitarian news agency reports.

"The UNHCR continues to encourage countries to take vulnerable Iraqis and we think potential host countries could enlarge their quotas," said Dakhlallah. "There is a need and resettlement is a major issue for us."