Iraqis in Syria - Profiles, Origins, and Locations

Profiles, Origins, and Locations

UNHCR estimates that 63% of Iraqis in Syria are Sunni, 19% Shi'a, and lists an additional 3% as Islam unspecified. Iraq's vulnerable minority groups are represented in disproportionately high numbers in Syria, with Christians at 11%, Mandaeans between 1-4%, and Yezidis at just under 1%. The majority of refugees are from Iraq's urban areas, with up to 80% hailing from Baghdad alone. Large portions of Iraq's Christians and Sabean-Mandeans, in particular, have fled to Syria due to the targeting and dissolution of their urban communities in Iraq. The number of Palestinians in Iraq, which was around 30,000 prior to 2003, has also shriveled as well, with most settling in the Yarmouk neighborhood of Damascus until 2006, when the Syrian government chose to restrict their entry.

In 2007, Syrian officials estimated that 80% of Iraqi refugees in Syria were living in greater Damascus. The largest Iraqi communities are found in the southern suburbs of Jaramanah, which is largely Christian, and Sayyida Zaynab, a predominantly Shi'a neighborhood. Damascene Iraqis also maintain a visible presence in Yarmouk and Qudsiyya. Many Sunnis, in particular, have been drawn to the northern municipalities of Aleppo, Homs, and Hama, while other Iraqis have settled in Tartus, Lattakia, Hasaka, Qamishli as well as the tribal areas of Deir ez-Zor and Abu Kemal. A camp at Al-Tanf, located at the border with Iraq, at times hosted over 1,000 Palestinian refugees who fled Iraq until its closure in February 2010. UNHCR ran the refugee camp for four years before relocating the majority of its inhabitants to Europe, while the remainder have been moved to al-Hol camp in northeast Syria.