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                    Thousands of Syrians Flock to Kurdistan

   A sudden influx of thousands of Syrians have flocked to Iraq`s
   Kurdistan region after weeks of fighting between Islamist insurgents
   and Kurds in northern Syria.
   Speaking in Geneva, U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees spokesman
   Adrian Edwards says 750 refugees crossed a bridge over the Tigris River
   into Peshkhabour in Iraqi Kurdistan on Thursday. The group was followed
   by between 5,000 and 7,000 people.
   Most of the new refugees are women, children and the elderly. The U.N.
   says aid agencies and authorities are rushing food and water to the
   site.
   The influx comes amid fierce fighting in recent weeks between Syrian
   Kurdish forces and the al-Qaida-linked group Jabhat al-Nusra, which is
   also fighting troops loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
   Kurdish leaders in Iraq and Syria are investigating unconfirmed reports
   of Kurdish massacres by al-Nusra. Syrian Kurds have largely attempted
   to stay on the sidelines in Syria`s civil war, administrating their own
   affairs and towns.
   Before Thursday`s sudden refugee influx, the border between Syria and
   northern Iraq was tightly-controlled. Kurdish officials say the
   fighting in the Kurdish area of Syria portends a refugee crisis for
   Iraq`s Kurdistan.
   Iraq already hosts more than 150,000 Syrian refugees, many living in
   makeshift enclaves.
   The U.N. says more than 1.9 million Syrians have fled their country`s
   civil conflict and applied to register as refugees. Lebanon houses
   nearly 700,000 Syrian refugees, and Jordan houses more than half a
   million.
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References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/thousands-of-syrians-flock-to-kurdistan/1731043.html