Kurdish leader pledges support to Syrian refugees

President of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region and the leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, Massoud Barzani said political differences, regional interferences, and the killing and destruction in Syria are pushing the country in unknown territory. Following a meeting with the representative from the Italian consulate, Carmelo Viccara, he said Kurdish residents were, “totally ready to provide aid ?and support”, to Syrian refugees fleeing into the Kurdish region of Iraq. On Sunday the Interior Minister in the government of Kurdistan region, Kareem Chenkaly previously met with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, UNHCR, to discuss the humanitarian crisis spilling over from Syria. The two sides agreed to build a refugee camp in Erbul, following a growing number of displaced villagers crossing the border to escape the fighting between the Sunni Free Syrian Army and pro-government forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad. According to the UNHCR, "scores of buses" are bringing people into Iraq, which is already home to around 150,000 refugees.