GENEVA (AFP) — The United Nations refugee agency said on Tuesday it was seeking 261 million dollars (177 million euros) this year to help more than 4 million people uprooted by the conflict in Iraq.
The appeal will cover 2.2 million internally displaced people as well as two million refugees in neighbouring countries, principally Syria and Jordan, UN High Commissioner for Refugees spokesman Ron Redmond told journalists.
The UNHCR also cares for some 41,000 foreign refugees in Iraq, including some 13,000 Palestinians whose situation is extremely precarious following threats and attacks by armed groups.
The number of Iraqis leaving the country fell in 2007 chiefly due to Jordan and Syria imposing visa restrictions, rather than any improvement in security following the US military's "surge" strategy, UNHCR spokeswoman Astrid van Genderen-Stort told AFP.
There has been no noticeable decrease in the number of internally displaced people which remains around the 2.2 million mark, she added.
In 2008, the UNHCR will focus on getting assistance to 400,000 of the most vulnerable IDPs, but it stressed that rampant insecurity means delivering this help is very difficult.
Iraqi authorities claim that at least 30,000 families returned to the country in late 2007 -- a figure the UNHCR is unable to confirm.
"UNHCR cannot at this time promote or encourage the return of Iraqi refugees, citing continuing security concerns and other factors."
"The agency is ready, however, to support the government in providing assistance to those who do decide to return," Redmond said.
Many Iraqi refugees in Syria and Jordan are living in poverty, while the host countries' health and education systems are coming under increasing strain.
The UNHCR said it was providing health assistance and educational support, and hoped to have 200,000 Iraqi refugee children attending school by the end of the year.
The agency will also continue direct cash assistance to vulnerable families, including providing cash cards which allow limited monthy withdrawals by female-headed households, widows and people with disabilities and chronic illnesses.
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