Iraqi refugees will not be welcome on Iranian soil in the event of a US attack, and any humanitarian relief efforts will be strictly confined to border areas, an interior ministry official said Tuesday.
"In the event of an American attack against Iraq, we will not authorize any Iraqi refugee to enter Iranian territory," Ahmad Hosseini, deputy interior minister charged with refugee affairs, told the official IRNA agency. But, he added, the Islamic regime had already put in place relief facilities to deal with up to 50,000 refugees in areas along Iran's western and southwestern frontier.
Hosseini said a "crisis cell" had been established by the interior ministry, and anticipated that in the event of a US attack against Saddam Hussein's regime, up to 500,000 people could flee towards Iraq's eastern border.
He said the UN's refugee agency, UNHCR, could mobilize the means to assist an amount of 150,000 refugees. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
