Spokesman for the UN Refugee Agency
Spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, based in Washington, DC
PROFILE
Tim Irwin
Guest
FROM Tim Irwin
To the Point
UN Says Iraqi Refugee Crisis Going Unnoticed Before the Iraq war began, the Pentagon was planning for a mass exodus of refugees. When the initial invasion went so fast, that was one of the many predictions that did not come true. Now, after years of deadly violence, it has. The UN's refugee agency says there's been "abject denial" of Iraq's humanitarian crisis by the rest of the world. Tim Irwin, spokesman for the UN's High Commissioner on Refugees , says some 50,000 people are fleeing their homes every month, ending up in Jordan, Syria and other parts of Iraq.
To the Point
More Kidnappings, Iraqis Leave the Country in Large Numbers Baghdad today experienced what may be the largest mass kidnapping since the US invasion as 150 people were abducted from four floors of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research. Women were separated and locked in a room. The men were taken away in SUV's. Meantime, the United Nations, which has been helping Iraqi refugees to return home in the wake of the US invasion, reports that nearly 100,000 people are now leaving the country every month . The UN is concerned about the humanitarian crisis caused by so many refugees. Who are these refugees and where are they going? What does that mean for Iraq's long-term stability?
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