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US Apathetic on Iraqi Refugees
WASHINGTON — Slamming the US apathy to the plight of nearly four million Iraqi refugees, the Democrat-controlled Congress is pressing the Bush administration to do more to assuage the suffering of Iraqis fleeing their war-ravaged country.
"Our nation is spending eight billion dollars a month to wage the war in Iraq. Yet to meet the urgent humanitarian needs of the refugees who have fled the war," Senator Edward Kennedy was quoted as saying by Agence France-Presse (AFP).
"The State Department plans to spend only 20 million dollars in the current fiscal year," he said.
Nearly two million Iraqis have fled the country since the 2003 US-led invasion-turned-occupation of their homeland.
Some1 . 7million Iraqis have also been internally displaced over the ongoing conflict, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
Over the past four years, the US has only admitted 466 Iraqi refugees.
"Like other aspects of the war, we bear a heavy responsibility for their plight," asserted Kennedy.
Without a UN mandate, the Bush administration invaded Iraq in 2003 on claims of stockpiling weapons of mass destruction, a claim later refuted by a US presidential report.
The UN said Tuesday that more than34 , 000Iraqis were killed in violence last year alone, adding an average of 94 Iraqis died every day, nearly half of them in the capital.
As previous attempts to secure Baghdad have failed, tens of thousands of middle-class Iraqis have given up and fled the country.
Plight
The UNHCR said the plight of the Iraqi refugees is the most serious humanitarian crisis facing the aid agency.
"We are increasingly concerned about reports of deportations and denial of access to the borders," said Michel Gabaudan, regional representative for the US and Caribbean at the UNHCR Office.
More
http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1168265670350&pagename=Zone-English-News/NWELayout
"The State Department plans to spend only 20 million dollars in the current fiscal year," he said.
Nearly two million Iraqis have fled the country since the 2003 US-led invasion-turned-occupation of their homeland.
Some1 . 7million Iraqis have also been internally displaced over the ongoing conflict, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
Over the past four years, the US has only admitted 466 Iraqi refugees.
"Like other aspects of the war, we bear a heavy responsibility for their plight," asserted Kennedy.
Without a UN mandate, the Bush administration invaded Iraq in 2003 on claims of stockpiling weapons of mass destruction, a claim later refuted by a US presidential report.
The UN said Tuesday that more than34 , 000Iraqis were killed in violence last year alone, adding an average of 94 Iraqis died every day, nearly half of them in the capital.
As previous attempts to secure Baghdad have failed, tens of thousands of middle-class Iraqis have given up and fled the country.
Plight
The UNHCR said the plight of the Iraqi refugees is the most serious humanitarian crisis facing the aid agency.
"We are increasingly concerned about reports of deportations and denial of access to the borders," said Michel Gabaudan, regional representative for the US and Caribbean at the UNHCR Office.
More
http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1168265670350&pagename=Zone-English-News/NWELayout
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