Angelina Jolie set for U.N. Humanitarian Visit to Syria Refugees

By Daniel Blake, Christian Post Contributor Thursday, June 16, 2011

Angelina Jolie is scheduled to fly out to Turkey this week to visit refugees fleeing violence in Syria, Turkey’s Foreign Ministry has reported.

The actress and U.N. refugee agency goodwill ambassador is expected to arrive in Istanbul Friday, and will immediately travel to Hatay.

Almost 10,000 refugees have piled into Turkey over the past weeks, fleeing from increasing violence and a brutal military crackdown from the Syrian government against anti-government protestors.

As increasing numbers of Syrian refugees make their way to the Turkish border the situation is quickly deteriorating into a humanitarian crisis. The U.N. recently released a report condemning the Syrian government for committing “breaches of the most fundamental rights” against its people.

The U.N. report, released Wednesday, reported that Syrian troops have used live ammunition against unarmed civilians taking part in non-violent protests leading to the killing of approximately 1,100 people.

The U.N. human rights office has called for an investigation into the allegations of abuses by Syrian authorities.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has also condemned the Syrian government for its lack of care for its people. Erdogan, on Tuesday, drew the attention of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to the worsening refugee situation and told him to "refrain from violence and end the unrest."

Jolie was appointed as a goodwill ambassador for the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees in 2001, and over the past decade has visited more than 20 countries.

Jolie has explained that her interest and compassion for humanitarian affairs was sparked when she visited Cambodia to film movie “Tomb Raider”.