The highest proportion of refugees in Germany currently comes from Iraq, and another 2,500 are due to arrive soon by way of Jordan and Syria, according to a UN organization that resettles displaced Iraqis. Germany has agreed to resettle 2,500 Iraqi refugees, said the Amman office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on Tuesday, March 10, adding that 2,000 would come from Syria and 500 from Jordan.
The first batch of 65 refugees will be soon leaving Jordan for resettlement in Germany, Dana Bajjali, a spokeswoman for the UNHCR office in Amman told DPA news agency without indicating the precise date of their departure.
About 2.2 million Iraqis fled their homes after the US-led invasion of Iraq began in 2003. In addition to the presence of foreign troops, the war sparked sectarian violence between Sunnis and the Iran-backed Shiite Muslims. It remains unclear exactly how many Iraqis have resettled in Syria. The UNHCR has said roughly 1.5 million Iraqi refugees are there, but the Norwegian research institute Fafo has claimed the actually number is only one-third of that. Since 2003, the UNHCR has resettled thousands of Iraqis in 16 countries. Iraqis make up the largest group of the 65,500 people classified as refugees living in Germany, statistics show. Substantial number of refugees in Germany hail from Turkey, Iran and Afghanistan.
