CWN - The Pontifical Council Cor Unum, which coordinates papal charities, has organized a special meeting on the refugee crisis in Iraq and Syria.
The conference, to be held in Rome on September 17, will bring together Catholic humanitarian groups active in the Middle East. The goal is to evaluate current initiatives, pool information, establish priorities, and plan cooperative ventures.
In announcing the conference, the Vatican Information Service noted that since 2011 there have been an estimated 250,000 people killed in Syria and Iraq, and over a million injured. More than 12 million people in Syria, and 8 million in Iraq, are now in need of humanitarian help. The two countries now account for over 10 million people who are displaced within their own nations, as well as 4 million refugees.
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