A chaotic scene at frontier between Syria and Kurdish areas of Northern Iraq, as 10 Thousand Syrian refugees poured over the Peshkhabour crossing to escape the civil war behind them.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says this is one of the biggest single waves of refugees it has had to deal with since the uprising against the rule of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad began in March 2011.  Pressure is not just on the UN, but also on the Kurdish regional government and assorted NGOs in the region.

“This is an unprecedented influx of refugees, and the main concern is that so many of them are stuck out in the open at the border or in emergency reception areas with limited, if any, access to basic services,” said Alan Paul of the charity “Save the Children”.

“The refugee response in Iraq is already thinly stretched, and close to half of the refugees are children who have experienced things no child should.”

Meanwhile, UN weapons inspectors have arrived in Damascus to investigate reports of chemical weapons being used in the Syrian civil war.