Iraqi Refugees In the aftermath of the Gulf War, 37,768 Iraqi refugees fled to Saudi Arabia and were housed in two camps, Rafha, for families, and Artewiyah, for single men.
The original group of refugees included roughly 10,000 Shi'ite rebel fighters who rose in rebellion against Saddam Hussein and another 4,000 or so former soldiers who defected, deserted, or were captured during Operation Desert Storm, and who refused to repatriate at the end of the war based on a fear of persecution if returned.
By the end of 1996, 19,797 refugees had been resettled in third countries. The United States had resettled about half of the total, admitting 10,046 between June 1991 and the end of 1996