• Iraq
  • December 22, 2006
  • 2 minutes read

100,000 Iraqi refugees in Egypt?

A new Pentagon report out yesterday describes the continuing disaster in Iraq. One item was on refugee flows. It says that:


“The numbers of refugees fleeing the violence are immense: 700,000 have fled to Jordan; 600,000 to Syria; 100,000 to Egypt; 40,000 to Lebanon, and 54,000 to Iran. Over 3,000 refugees per day are now appearing in Syria and Jordan.”


Renewing my visa at the Mugamaa last month I saw people with bundles of Iraqi passports at the window usually reserved for Palestinian sans papiers.


100,000 Iraqi refugees living in Egypt? I need to get out more. Does anyone know of any research done on the Iraqi community in Egypt?


Link to Pentagon report [PDF], which says:



Refugees. Many Iraqis have fled the country, and the number of refugees continues to rise. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) November 2006 Iraq Displacement Report, for Iraqis living outside Iraq, “the figures in the immediate neighbouring states are still imprecise, but we now estimate that there are up to 700,000 Iraqis in Jordan; at least 600,000 in Syria; at least 100,000 in Egypt; 20,000–40,000 in Lebanon; and 54,000 in Iran. Many of those outside the country fled over the past decade or more, but now some 2,000 a day are arriving in Syria, and an estimated 1,000 a day in Jordan. Most of them do not register with UNHCR.”