UN rushes to aid Palestinians on Iraq-Syria border after fire sweeps through camp

The United Nations refugee agency has responded with emergency supplies and assistance for Palestinian refugees caught on the Iraq-Syria border after a fire swept through their camp.

Some 25 people were injured and 53 tents were destroyed by the blaze, the third at the Al Tanf camp in less than a year, UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) spokesperson Jennifer Pagonis told a press briefing in Geneva.

She said the disaster “yet again highlights the need for a humanitarian solution to be found for Palestinians trapped at the border after fleeing Baghdad.”

An unattended fuel stove caused the fire which spread rapidly through the site, destroying tents, personal documents and all possessions of the Palestinians who have been stranded for the past 18 months at the camp which the agency describes as being located in a “no-man's land.”

“This fire has just added to an increasing atmosphere of despair and desperation at the camp,” Ms. Pagonis said.

A UNHCR team rushed tents, mattresses and kitchen supplies to the camp, organized refilling of fire extinguishers, and explored extra fire-prevention measures.

Al Tanf hosts 310 Palestinian refugees who fled sectarian violence in Iraq and have been stranded in the border area since May 2006 after they were denied entry into neighbouring countries. The majority are women and children.

Another nearby border camp in the desert area, Al Waleed, hosts an estimated 1,400 Palestinian refugees, with new arrivals every week, according to UNHCR.

In a separate development in the region, UNHCR in Syria on Monday started a mobile registration exercise in an effort to register Iraqi refugees in the country's north-east. The ten-member registration team is expected to register tens of thousands of Iraqi refugees throughout Syria in the coming year, Ms. Pagonis reported.

“The mobile registration will help give a clearer picture of the number of Iraqis in Syria, already estimated to be around 1.4 million and map out their whereabouts which is important for the delivery of assistance and protection,” she explained.