Angelina Jolie visits refugees in Iraq, Syria

"I have come to Syria and Iraq to help draw attention to this humanitarian crisis and to urge governments to increase their support for UNHCR (the UN refugee agency) and its partners," said Jolie, a goodwill ambassador for the agency.

"My sole purpose in both countries is to highlight the plight of those uprooted by the war in Iraq," she added.

Jolie spoke to refugees stuck in Iraq's makeshift Al Waleed camp, and later watched scores of Iraqis crossing into Syria at a border checkpoint.

"It is absolutely essential that the ongoing debate about Iraq's future includes plans for addressing the enormous humanitarian consequences these people face," she said after visiting the camp.

While in Iraq, Jolie left UNHCR officials to visit privately with US and other multinational forces based in the area.

Jolie arrived in Syria on Monday, where she spoke to some of the thousands of Iraqi refugees registering with UNHCR. Nearly one quarter of all Iraqis in Syria are victims of violence and torture, according to the agency.

It released statistics Tuesday indicating that two million Iraqi refugees have fled to neighbouring states and 2.2 million have been displaced inside Iraq. Tens of thousands are now unemployed.

In late July, UNHCR and UNICEF launched a joint 129 million dollar education appeal aimed at getting 155,000 young Iraqi refugees throughout the Middle East back into school. The United States announced Tuesday that it will contribute 30 million dollars to the appeal.

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