The United Nations Assistant High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Erika Feller hailed on Sunday the great humanitarian efforts offered by Syria to the Iraqi refugees, the official SANA news agency reported.
Feller made the remarks during his meeting with Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad in which they discussed conditions of the displaced Iraqis in Syria and Syria's efforts to meet their needs.
Feller, currently on a weeklong mission to Syria and Lebanon to assess the protection needs of Iraqis in both countries, also expressed UNHCR's deep appreciation of Syria, which, he said has been assuming big burdens in providing help to the needy Iraqis.
For his part, Mekdad explained the different aspects for the burdens that Syria are shouldering in its endeavor to cover the needs of the Iraqi expatriates.
He also called upon the international community to deal with the tragedy of the Iraqi refugees with more sense of responsibility and seriousness while stressing the necessity to work hard to ensure the return of those refugees to their homes.
In this regard, Mekdad noted the special responsibility of the states that are responsible for this humanitarian disaster to contribute seriously to putting an end to it.
Syria is hosting more than 1.5 million Iraqi refugees, accounting for over half of the total exodus.
The enormous mass of Iraqis directly affects Syria's welfare system, its infrastructure and public services, and prices of daily commodities and properties have climbed up as well.
Source: Xinhua
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