By DPA
Washington : The conflict in Iraq has driven the number of refugees worldwide to nearly 14 million, the highest level since 2001, according to a US-based advocacy group.
The global population of refugees climbed to 13.9 million during 2006, the US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants said in a report Wednesday.
There were about 800,000 Iraqi refugees in Syria and another 700,000 in Jordan. During the year, Syria took on about 450,000 as sectarian violence in Iraq increased.
There were 80,000 Iraqi refugees living in Egypt and an additional 22,000 in Lebanon. The US has accepted only 202, the report said.
The committee warned that the increase in refugees on a global scale has caused more to be "warehoused". About nine million are living in camps.
US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the US government was working to process Iraqis classified as refugees by the United Nations. The US is working with Jordan and Syria to ease the hardship of refugees and to get children back into schools, he said.
"We want to make sure that they have the basic minimum, at the very least minimum humanitarian needs in terms of shelter and clothing and food and immunisations," he said.
The US was pleased with the Syrians and Jordanians for working to meet the needs of the refugees, McCormack said.