Actress and UN goodwill ambassador Angelina Jolie makes case for Syrian refugees in Iraq

BAGHDAD – Hollywood star Angelina Jolie is in Iraq meeting with leaders about the plight of an estimated 50,000 refugees who fled to escape violence in Syria.

A government statement said Jolie on Saturday urged Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari to ensure the refugees have enough supplies.

Zebari said an estimated 21,000 Syrian refugees are living in Iraq’s western Anbar and Dohuk provinces. Another 31,000 Iraqis who years ago fled to Syria to escape sectarian fighting in their homeland have returned, he said.

Jolie is a goodwill ambassador for the U.N.’s refugee agency. She is expected to visit the Kurdish self-rule capital of Irbil in northern Iraq on Sunday.

It was a rare visit to Iraq by an American movie star. She posed for pictures with Zebari but was not available for interviews.