Iraq urged countries hosting more than 2 million Iraqi refugees who have fled violence at home to stop mistreating those arriving at their borders and avoid their forcible return until stability returns.
Up to half of the refugees are being sheltered by neighbours Syria and Jordan, which say they are struggling to shoulder the burden, while nearly 2 million are displaced across Iraq.
Iraq's deputy foreign minister Mohammad al-Haj Hamoud said efforts to stem the flow of refugees by Jordan and to a lesser extent Syria, who now impose tougher entry restrictions and residency conditions, resulted in many cases of mistreatment at border crossings.
He said Iraqis holding legitimate passports and visas underwent humiliating detention at airports for days before being deported without any justification.
Turning away Iraqi families who risked their lives by taking the arduous land journey through areas suffering widescale fighting to reach safety at Iraq's border crossings with its neighbours was inhumane, Hamoud said.
There was no immediate comment from either Jordan or Syria. However, both countries say they are doing the best they can to accommodate the refugees, but need more help from Iraq and the international community.
Syria hosts some 1.2 million Iraqis, a number equal to 12 percent of its own population, and says it needs $256 million to maintain aid, health care and education over the next two years.
Jordan says the 750,000 Iraqi refugees inside its borders cost it $1 billion a year, stretching the resources of a country of just 5.6 million.
While recognising the difficulties faced by Jordan and Syria in absorbing the refugees who have stretched resources, Western and Iraqi human rights groups have expressed concern the countries were making it harder for fleeing Iraqis to enter.
[Reuters]
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