UNHCR - Increasing numbers of Palestinians leaving Baghdad

UNHCR reports "The number of Palestinians stuck on the Iraq-Syria border after fleeing violence in Baghdad has risen to 80, with more reported on the way. Last weekend, an additional 39 Palestinians left Baghdad for the border with Syria, where an earlier group of 41, including 19 children, has been stuck just inside Iraq since Dec. 16.

UNHCR received reports over the weekend that the security situation for Palestinians in Baghdad had grown worse over the past week and that more were on the way to the border. Members of the Mahdi army were reported in Palestinian areas in eastern Baghdad, attempting to take over apartments to assert control in the mainly Shia area. The predominantly Sunni Palestinians are increasingly living in fear of attacks.

The 80 Palestinians now stranded on the Iraqi side of the border with Syria are prevented from leaving by Iraqi authorities, and from entering Syria by Syrian authorities. The group has also been denied access to a no-man's land between the two countries, where another 350 Palestinians have been living since last May. So far, the 80 people stranded just inside the Iraqi border have been taken care of by a generous local tribal leader. UNHCR and the International Committee of the Red Cross have also provided relief items such as blankets, stoves, plastic sheets, tents and food. But weather conditions are rapidly deteriorating and new supplies, including additional tents and kerosene, are urgently needed.

UNHCR has undertaken various demarches with the Iraqi and Syrian authorities, but has been unable to find any solution for the stranded Palestinians. A recent agreement between Iraq and Syria called for tighter control of population movements between the two countries. Palestinians have been specifically targeted in Iraq and have no safe haven or support network there. There are still an estimated 15,000 Palestinians in Iraq – out of some 34,000 in 2003. In Baghdad, they live in a climate of constant fear and are unable to get proper documents. Hundreds who have tried to flee are stuck at the Syrian border or in an isolated camp inside Jordan. And those who have succeeded in leaving Iraq often did so illegally."

UNHCR condemns attack on Baladiat

UNHCR said "it was alarmed by a militia attack on a Palestinian neighbourhood in Baghdad which left at least nine people dead, including several children, and it appealed to countries to provide a humanitarian solution for Palestinians attempting to flee Iraq. Local militia reportedly shelled the Al Baladiya area for three hours on Wednesday with no attempt by the Iraqi police or multinational forces to halt the attack. The militia also blocked ambulances from taking the dead and wounded to hospital. At least nine people were reportedly killed and many injured during the attack."

"We are very alarmed by this attack and dismayed by the lack of protection given to the Palestinians in Iraq. They have very limited freedom of movement and no possibility to leave the country – unlike Iraqis – to find a safe haven, nor any community to protect them," said Radhouane Nouicer, UNHCR's Geneva-based deputy director for the region. We are urgently appealing to the Iraqi government and the multinational forces to provide protection and safety or an alternative safe location for this targeted group. We also ask the world to stop turning their back and provide a humane solution and safe haven to these people who have no way out," he added.

However, discussions on Thursday with the Iraqi authorities leave little room for optimism that anything can be done to improve protection for this population. The exact fate of those wounded in the attack is not known, as some families were too scared to take injured relations to hospital or remove bodies. Others are too fearful of their own safety to visit some wounded smuggled out in private cars to hospital. Violence against the Palestinian community in Iraq has increased in recent years, but markedly so since the bombing of an important Shia Muslim mosque in Samarra last February. In recent months, Palestinians have been the victims of kidnappings and targeted killings, with an increase in attacks and abductions over the last weeks. Last Saturday, the same Al Baladiya area came under mortar attack, leaving 10 people wounded, while several eminent Palestinians were kidnapped. On earlier occasions, leaflets with death threats were left on doors in Palestinian neighbourhoods of Baghdad, prompting hundreds to flee to the border between Syria and Iraq. Palestinians in Baghdad are extremely fearful for their lives and have expressed their wish to leave as soon as possible. But, with more than 350 Palestinians stuck in inhumane conditions on the border between Iraqi and Syria, there seems to be no way out for other Palestinians trapped in the capital.

UNHCR has repeatedly appealed to the international community and governments to offer refuge for Palestinians. It has appealed to Israel to allow for admission into the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and asked neighbouring Arab states to keep their doors open. UNHCR has also approached resettlement countries, but so far positive responses have only been received by Canada – which has taken 64 Palestinians, stuck in the Jordanian desert for years – and Syria, which took up 287 Palestinians last May, before closing its borders to other desperate Palestinians."

Abbas calls Talabani after attack

The Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, and the newly elected Palestinian Legislative Council, (PLC), on Wednesday morning condemned the attacks on Palestinian refugees in Iraq which has caused the death of ten since last Wednesday.

The Palestinian in charge of Iraqi Affairs, Dalil Qusous, verified on Tuesday that the Wolf Brigades of the Iraqi Interior Ministry, including the militias of Abdul Azziz Al Hakim, had launched an attack on the Palestinian citizens in the Baladiat and Zafraniah neighborhoods in eastern Baghdad. Three days ago armed men broke into the home of the father of the former attaché Najah Abdul Rahman. They took his two brothers who were later found dead in the Thawra neighborhood. And even more recently armed men killed the Imam in another mosque.

Qusous said that Palestinians living in Iraq have no problems with any of the Iraqis and called for the protection of Palestinians in the country. He added that Palestinian President Abbas telephoned the Iraqi President, Jalal Talabani, urging him to protect the Palestinian people there. President Abbas asked that the Iraqi President do everything possible to put an end to the attacks and aggressions, and to provide a secure situation for the Palestinians. The press release also stated that these attacks threaten the good ties that connect the Palestinian Authority and the Iraqi nation, and asked Muslim leaders in Iraq to bring the perpetrators to justice. Also, PLC members made clear that the Palestinian refugees are in Iraq temporarily and they will come back to Palestine when the state is established.