At least 25,000 Iraqi nationals who have fled from jihadist violence in their homeland are seeking refuge in Turkey, with the number of figures sharply increasing since July as hundreds of thousands of Iraqis suffer at the hands of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
The number of Iraqi citizens who have tried to appeal to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office in Ankara for refugee status after having fled from jihadists since May is estimated to be around 25,000, sources said.
The UNHCR Office has only had the capacity to process applications for 15,000 of the refugees since May, the same sources said.
The UNHCR is able to handle 300 out of 700-800 people applying on a daily basis, sources said. Some 3,000 Iraqis have now begun applying on a weekly basis, according to sources.
The UNHCR said 1,884 Iraqi citizens finalized applications in May, 4,968 people in June, and 7,130 people in July.