Iraqi Syrian
| Total population | |
|---|---|
|
(1,000,000-1,500,000 (estimate) |
|
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Mainly Damascus (Jaramana, Sayyida Zaynab, Yarmouk), with smaller communities in Aleppo, Homs, Hama, Tartus, Latakia, Deir ez-Zor, Abu Kamal, Hasaka, Qamishli | |
| Languages | |
| Arabic, Neo-Aramaic(incl. Mandaic), Kurdish, Turkmen | |
| Religion | |
| Mostly Islam a significant Christianity minority (Syriac Christianity and Catholicism) and a small number of Mandaeism. |
|
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Arabs, Armenians, Assyrians, Mizrahim, Iranians, Azeris, Turkmen |
(1,000,000-1,500,000 (estimate)
Iraqis in Syria are Syrian citizens of Iraqi origin or, more commonly today, Iraqis who are seeking refuge or better opportunities inside Syria. Though there is no consensus on the community's size, most estimates indicate that the number of displaced Iraqis in Syria remains well over 1,000,000 in 2010. The refugee population who was registered with the UNHCR was 90,000 in 2012, 127,859 in 2011, and 151,000 in 2010.
Syria has traditionally served as a refuge for exiles and displaced peoples in the region, and notably maintained a pan-Arabist tradition of keeping its borders open to other Arabs since 1960. Since 1948, several waves of Palestinians entered the country, where over 400,000 live today. During the July War of 2006, around 100,000 Lebanese citizens fled to Syria to find short-term shelter. Syria welcomed several small waves of Iraqis beginning in the 1930s, including exiles from political opposition movements and later Shi'a and Kurds seeking refuge from the Hussein government. Syria closed its border with Iraq in the aftermath of the 1991 Gulf War, though it was re-opened in 1997. By 1999 the flow of Iraqis into Syria resumed, and by 2003 an estimated 250,000 Iraqis had fled to Syria.
The present wave of refugees was sparked by the invasion of 2003. The first to leave were officials and military officers with close ties to the former government, followed by people fleeing the violence in the Anbar province in 2004. At the same time, minority groups (including Christians, Mandeans, and Yezidis) as well as secular-leaning families and professionals fled to escape being targeted amidst the increasingly violent and sectarian atmosphere in Baghdad and the country's south. Beginning with the bombing of the Shi'a shrine in Samarra in February 2006, Syria witnessed a massive influx of Shi'a and Sunni refugees who sought to escape the spiraling violence throughout the country. As the number of Iraqi refugees in Syria reached crisis levels in 2007, the government came under considerable pressure to introduce a visa requirement. Additionally, many officials expressed frustration at the world's perceived indifference to their country's efforts. After the Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki welcomed the idea of introducing the visa, the government implemented a new policy in October 2007 which sealed the border to many Iraqis.
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Wikipedia