Angelina Jolie visits Syrian refugees as protests intensify

Angelina Jolie Visits Syrian Refugees

Angelina Jolie seemingly brought starpower to fight against the firepower from Syrian forces intent on stomping dissent in the troubled Middle East country.

The actress in her capacity as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Goodwill Ambassador visited a camp of refugees flowing into Turkey from its border in Syria on Friday.

Angelina Jolie brought toys and shared some food with about 1,700 refugees camped out in  Altinozu, some 20 kilometers from the Turkish-Syrian border. A total of 10,000 refugees are said to spread to at least three camps in Hatay province and more are pouring into Turkey to escape the bloody crackdown by Syrian forces.

"The people in this camp have fled in fear for their lives, and many told me they were distraught about the safety of loved ones still in Syria," Angelina Jolie said in a statement.

The celebrity praised Turkey for opening its borders to alleviate a worsening humanitarian crisis as Syria spins into chaos, the latest Arab nation to do so in recent months.

The so-called "Arab Spring" has swept through much of the Arab world and Syrian President Bashar Assad who has ruled the country with an iron fist has remained defiant amid violent protests against his regime. He has since ordered reprisals that have so far killed 1,400 people according to human rights groups.

Angelina Jolie was welcomed with a frenzy by mostly women refugees in the camp where she visited and she waved to fans before being escorted by security personnel to the airport.

Posted by Kade Quinn on Saturday June 18 2011, 6:55 AM EST. Ref: AP. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Entertainment. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0