GENEVA - Slovakia will temporarily take in 98 Palestinian refugees who have spent six years stuck in an Iraqi camp near the Syrian border, the UN refugee agency said on Tuesday.
The Palestinians, who attempted to flee Iraq after being attacked, will spend up to six months in Slovakia before being resettled in different countries.
They are expected to arrive at the transit centre in Humenne, northeast Slovakia, at the end of August.
The centre will allow the refugees to leave the harsh conditions of the desert camp, "where they have been trapped for the last six years", the Office for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said in a statement.
"They will stay at the new centre for up to six months while their final resettlement to other countries is arranged."
Slovakia's government, the UNHCR and the International Organisation for Migration signed an agreement on the issue Monday.
The agency said it plans to close three camps housing Palestinian refugees in the border area between Syria and Iraq this year and the closure of Al Walid is "the highest priority".
There are around 1,500 refugees in Al Walid, and about 1,200 more at the two other camps in the area.
Palestinians began fleeing to Al Walid from Baghdad in 2003 after being attacked by Iraqis, the UNHCR said.
But Syria refused to take them in and they were forced to live in the border area.
Another transit centre to help resettle the refugees opened in Romania last year.
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