United Nations Radio

The UN refugee agency has rushed assistance to hundreds of Palestinian refugees stuck in camps on the Iraq-Syria border after heavy rain and flooding caused chaos and misery.

Rainstorms this week left tents inundated with water and sewage, possessions soaked and electricity supplies cut at Al Tanf, a settlement housing almost 800 people in the narrow no man's land between Iraq and Syria.

The situation was even worse in Al Waleed, a nearby camp hosting more than 1,400 refugees just inside Iraq, where more than 100 families were left homeless after their tents were destroyed in the storm. UNHCR was rushing supplies to both sites, but it was taking longer to get to Al Waleed due to security considerations.

The UNHCR office in Damascus sent new tents, plastic sheeting, blankets and mattresses to Al Tanf on Wednesday, while refugee agency staff on the ground in Al Waleed were waiting for supplies to arrive in Iraq. The worst affected families and elderly Palestinians were moved to the camp school and a clinic.

Some of the refugees have lived at Al Tanf for three years, barred from entering any of the countries neighbouring Iraq.

UNHCR has reiterated its appeal to the international community to provide resettlement places for Palestinians from Iraq, with no other option currently available for the refugees.

This is Donn Bobb reporting for United Nations Radio.

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