UAE president gives $10 million for Iraqi refugees

GENEVA - The president of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahayan, has donated $10 million to the United Nations to help Iraqi refugees in Syria, the U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Tuesday.

UNHCR spokeswoman Jennifer Pagonis said 60,000 Iraqis continue to flee their homes every month, with 2.2 million people now uprooted within Iraq and 2.2 million in neighbouring countries. Syria is host to more than 1.4 million Iraqis.

On Monday, the agency said that Syria had reimposed rules barring entry to Iraqi refugees. Pagonis said it would mean that they "lose their only remaining safe haven", but the agency was discussing the issue with authorities in Damascus and had not received any formal notification.

"The Iraqis in Syria now constitute about 10 percent of the total popu/lation and put an enormous strain on the country," she told a news briefing in announcing the $10 million donation.

She said it was "unusual" for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to receive a donation of that size for a single programme, and it was the largest gift from the UAE in 10 years.

The agency has been appealing widely for support for countries hosting Iraqis.

An estimated 19,800 Iraqis applied for asylum in North America, Europe and Australia in the first six months of 2007.