Angelina's Star Power Highlights Refugees in Iraq

Published
UNHCR

Angelina Jolie concluded her latest humanitarian mission by visiting a refugee camp in Iraq for people fleeing Syria's civil war.

Jolie -- who serves as a United Nations Special Envoy -- hailed the Iraqi government on Sunday for hosting Syrian refugees fleeing violence and expressed her hope that all Syrians seeking asylum in Iraq would be welcomed.

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"I want to highlight the noble efforts of the Iraqi government and the people of Iraq to support Syrian refugees," Jolie said during a press conference in the Iraqi capital Baghdad. "At this juncture, it is critical that Iraq receives urgent international support and continues to welcome refugees across its borders."

On Saturday, Jolie met with senior government officials and spent time with Iraqis who had sought refuge in Syria but were recently forced to return to Iraq after fleeing ongoing violence in Syria. On Sunday, she met with Syrian refugees in the Domiz refugee camp in northern Iraq.

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It was Jolie's fourth and final stop on a tour of countries neighboring Syria, where more than 260,000 Syrian refugees have been registered since civil war broke out in March 2011.