Japan has extended emergency grant aid totaling 4.5 million dollars to Syria and Jordan to help Iraqi refugees forced to flee into neighbouring countries by the unrest in their homeland, it was announced today. A statement released by the Japanese embassy in Damascus said the grant aid would be channelled through the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), dpa reported. Some 3 million dollars of the total sum will be allocated to Syria as a Japanese contribution to "easing the burden which Syria has shouldered since it has hosted a considerable number of Iraqi refugees," the statement said. With this grant aid, the statement said, "the UNHCR will enforce, in cooperation with relevant Syrian authorities, community-based assistance in health, education and other related sectors."
