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Iraq:
Up to a third of Al Tash camp refugees reported to
have fled after fighting around Ramadi
This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR
spokesperson Ron Redmond – to whom quoted text may
be attributed – at the press briefing, on 23
November 2004, at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.
UNHCR has received alarming reports that up to a
third of the refugees at Al Tash camp in Iraq have
fled because of the fighting around Ramadi last
week.
As you know, UNHCR does not have any international
staff in Iraq and is unable to monitor the situation
in the camp, which until recently hosted some 4,200
Iranian Kurd refugees.
But we have learned from our partner on the ground
that 30 to 35 per cent of the refugees have left Al
Tash in the past few days. There are sketchy reports
that armed fighters attacked the police station
inside the camp late last week.
We have also been informed that some of the local
services, such as water and electricity, have been
suspended and that the local police stopped visiting
the camp, most likely for security reasons. All
these elements could have contributed to a feeling
of insecurity that may have led some of the refugees
to flee.
It is not clear yet where they have gone. The most
likely possibilities are that they are either trying
to reach northern Iraq, or that they are on their
way to the Jordanian border. As of last night, we
had not received any reports from our staff of new
arrivals at the Jordanian border.
UNHCR Briefing Notes
http://www.unhcr.org/
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