AROUND 30,000 Syrians have fled their homeland's civil war in a mass exodus and crossed over into neighbouring Iraq's northern self-ruled Kurdish region in the past five days.
The massive influx of people, many of whom are Syrian Kurds seeking refuge from escalating violence in north-eastern Syria, has put severe strain on the resources of aid agencies as well as Iraqi Kurdistan's regional government.
A spokesman for the UN refugee agency in Iraq's Kurdish region said: "Syrian refugees are still pouring into Iraq's northern Kurdish region in huge numbers and most of them are women and children.
"The reason behind this sudden flow is still not clear."
Around 3000 Syrian refugees crossed the borders during yesterday alone, bringing the number to around 30,000 refugees since Thursday and the total number of Syrian refugees in the Kurdish region to around 195,000.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees has set up an emergency transit camp in Irbil, the capital of Iraq's Kurdish autonomous region, to house some of the new arrivals. Some of the refugees are said to be reportedly staying in mosques or with family or friends who live in the area.
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