Top stories from DAWNS Digest
20,000 Syrian Refugees Pour into Iraq Over the Weekend
It wasn’t too long ago that refugees flowed in the other direction. “More than 20,000 Syrian refugees have entered northern Iraq since Thursday in one of the largest crossings in the more than two-year-old conflict and the influx is continuing, the United Nations said on Monday. Syrians began pouring into the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq last Thursday, taking advantage of a new bridge along the largely closed border, the U.N. says.” (AP http://yhoo.it/13zKuQq)
CAR Troubles: Violence Against Civilians is “Reaching Peak Levels”
Violence against civilians is reaching unprecedented levels in the Central African Republic. “As Michel Djotodia took his oath as the new president of the Central African Republic (CAR) on Aug. 18, Séléka, the coalition of rebel groups that he led and that helped him overthrow the government on Mar. 23, were still looting and killing civilians….Uncontrolled elements of the rebel coalition consequently retreated to provinces to continue ‘business as usual’. The outcome was an unprecedented peak in violence against civilians, particularly in the north.” (IPS http://bit.ly/13zTG7o)