(Adds more quotes and details) By Suleiman al-Khalidi AMMAN, Feb 7 (Reuters) - The plight of four million Iraqis forced to flee their homes by escalating violence has become a humanitarian disaster, the head of the United Nations refugee agency said on Wednesday. Antonio Guterres, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), said the international community had to do much more to to help the Iraqis, either displaced or fleeing the country. "When you have almost four million people displaced inside the country or in countries around ... we are facing a humanitarian disaster," he told Reuters in an interview in Amman, the Jordanian capital. Guterres is on a week-long trip to the Middle East to marshal funds for the agency's $60 million appeal and to mobilise international support to help host countries. "...this is the biggest movement of displaced people in the Middle East since the Palestinian crisis in 1948," he said. Out of Iraq's population of 26 million, some 1.8 million Iraqis are uprooted within its borders, including an estimated 640,000 in the past year, according to UNHCR figures. Two million Iraqis have fled to nearby countries or beyond over recent years. Besides Jordan and Syria, many have gone to Egypt, Lebanon, Turkey and Iran. U.N aid officials say many donor countries, including the United States which invaded Iraq in 2003, have been reluctant to face up to a regional Iraqi refugee crisis that could be regarded as an admission of the failure of post-war policies. Aid officials say the Iraqi authorities appear unable to handle the crisis. "I don't think there is enough awareness ... I think we need to recognise that we really feel we are all overwhelmed by the dimensions of the problem," Guterres said. The main U.N. refugee agency is hampered by the security situation from doing much in Iraq. "There is a very limited way to assist because of the circumstances. Unfortunately, numbers have been growing and this is of great concern and creates us great worries," he said. Countries such as Jordan and Syria that have accepted more than 1.2 million Iraqis in the last few years should be helped to cope via a major donor campaign, including financial aid and other forms of assistance, Guterres said. U.N. officials say Iraqis in Jordan and Syria face increasing difficulties enrolling their children in overcrowded schools, getting access to basic services including health care and extending their residency. "They are having huge strains in their infrastructure, in their health services, in their educational systems - we need to help them cope with this massive challenge," Guterres said. A global conference hosted by UNHCR in Geneva in April will lobby for substantial aid to host countries. "It is not fair that the burden is not being shared equally. A very limited number of countries is paying a very heavy price for the protection of these people in distress," Guterres said. "Our concern is that countries making such a huge effort should and hopefully will receive meaningful support from the international community," the top U.N. official said.
