 The number of Iraqi refugees trying to flee to industrialized nations has increased substantially during 2007,
according to a U.N. refugee agency report Friday.
The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said that there were 19,800 "asylum applications by Iraqis in industrialized countries" during the first six months this year. The figure is 45 percent up on the last six months of 2006, when 13,600 applications were made.
The figures are also "more than double those for the first six months of 2006, when a total of 8,500 asylum applications were submitted by Iraqi nationals," it said.
"If current trends are maintained, by the end of the year the number of Iraqi asylum seekers might reach the levels witnessed between 2000 and 2002 when, annually, an average of 40,000 to 50,000 Iraqis sought asylum in the 36 industrialized countries included in UNHCR's statistics," the agency added.
The figures are based on data provided by 36 industrialized countries to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.
Sweden received 9,300 claims from refugees, nearly half of the 19,800 total, that had been made during the first six months of this year, the report said.
The U.N. agency said "the large Iraqi community in that country and its strong social network might account for the high number of Iraqi asylum seekers there."
It reported that 3,500 Iraqis applied for asylum in Greece this year compared to 1,400 throughout all of last year.
"Spain and Germany recorded 1,500 and 820 applications respectively during the first half of 2007," the agency said.
There are also about 2.2 million Iraqis outside their country, mostly in Syria and Jordan, the United Nations said.
The U.N. staff in Syria said "arrivals of Iraqis at the border are averaging about 2,000 a day," UNHCR said.
"Earlier this month, Syria announced visa restrictions for Iraqis wishing to enter Syria, but temporarily lifted them with the start of Ramadan.
"It is encouraging to note that Iraqis fleeing violence and insecurity are still allowed entry in Syria which is now hosting nearly 1.5 million Iraqi refugees, a very heavy burden on a country that has shown immense hospitality over the past years."
AMSI Net- CNN
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