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Actress Angelina Jolie Visits Iraq


Angelina Jolie visited Iraq on August 28 to meet with refugees and U.S. troops.

Jolie - a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees - made the visit during a two-day trip to the region, according to an agency statement.

It said the 32-year-old actress met August 27 with displaced Iraqis in neighboring Syria before briefly crossing into Iraq "to see firsthand the plight of hundreds of thousands of families uprooted by the ongoing conflict."

The Geneva-based agency quoted Jolie as saying "I have come to Syria and Iraq to help draw attention to this humanitarian crisis and to urge governments to increase their support for UNHCR and its partners."

Jolie traveled to the Al-Waleed refugee camp on the Iraqi side of the border, where she spoke to some of the 1,200 Iraqis living there. She then visited a contingent of U-S troops in the area. Angelina Jolie has worked with UNHCR since 2001.

In May, a foundation she established along with her partner, actor Brad Pitt, donated $1 million to help those affected by the conflict in Sudan's Darfur region and neighboring Chad.

Last month UNHCR and UNICEF launched an appeal for nearly $130 million to help educate displaced Iraqi children across the Middle East. The U-S said on August 28 it would contribute $30 million to the appeal.

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