Baghdad, Oct 26 (IANS) The number of Syrian refugees crossing the border into Iraq has increased significantly in recent days after the anti-Kurds Turkish offensive in the area, the UN said in a statement.
The World Food Programme (WFP) has so far provided food assistance to 8,850 newly-arrived Syrian refugees in Bardarash Camp located in Duhok province in Iraq’s semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan, Xinhua news agency quoted the statement as saying on Friday.
A total of 176,000 people have been displaced in northeastern Syria due to military operations and WFP has managed to provide assistance in all collective shelters, according to Antoine Renard from the WFP.
Bardarash Camp has recently been re-opened to accommodate newly displaced Syrians fleeing military operations, with increasing new refugees arriving on a daily basis.
Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, special representative of the UN Secretary-General for Iraq, visited Bardarash Camp on Wednesday and expressed great concern about the increasing number of refugees, saying the camp will soon reach its maximum capacity of 11,000.
UN agencies were providing basic services in the camp, including tents, food, and core relief items such as mattresses, blankets and hygiene kits.
“Further support from the international community is urgently needed,” Hennis-Plasschaert said.
–IANS
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