Plan to send Mideast refugees to Sudan draws protest

Palestinian refugees along the Iraq-Syria border are so desperate, they may accept a U.N. offer to go to Sudan, a country widely condemned for atrocities and genocide in its Darfur region.

Al Tanf camp, where 400 Palestinian refugees are living, is appalling, according to the United Nations. The camp floods regularly, has poor sanitation and problems with garbage disposal.

Thousands of Palestinians fled Iraq during the war, when they were targeted by militias. Now they are caught in limbo, denied access to both Iraq and neighboring Syria. The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said the Palestinians would be resettled in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum, away from Darfur.

Palestinians are the most vulnerable group being targeted in Iraq, said Andrew Harper, the U.N.'s Geneva, Switzerland-based senior Iraq operations manager.

"They literally have nowhere else to flee and in many cases have been denied travel documents," he said. "The international community must act now to help these people. A safe haven needs to be found immediately, outside Iraq."