"We are thinking of it it and planning for it. The UNHCR will put in place the means for an eventual massive voluntary repatriation, whatever their number," said Abdelhamid el-Ouali, UNHCR director in Syria.

"The conditions on the ground in Iraq are not yet favourable," he told AFP. "There are elements of instability and insecurity to be taken into account."

He added: "It is essential that the UN is able to do its work with guarantees and the goodwill of all."

Ouali also pointed to the absence of adequate water, electricity and food supplies in Iraq.

He was unable to say when the repatriation process would begin.

There are no precise figures for the number of Iraqi refugees in Syria, but the UNHCR estimates that they number less than 70,000.

SPACE.WIRE