WHAT is known as Kurdistan has been the scene of conflict throughout the 20th century.

The area, which includes parts of Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey, was promised autonomy in a treaty in 1920. However, this never materialised and the tensions continued.

The world began to take notice in 1988 when Iraq launched poison gas attacks on Kurdish villages and executed males to quash any resistance.

Attacks continued through the Gulf War causing 1.5 million Kurds to flee to either the Iraq and Turkey border or Iran.

In 1992, the United Nations established a "no-fly" zone over northern Iraq which enabled Kurds to live in a protected area.

They held a general election, but problems between two Kurdish political parties prolonged the tensions.

In 1999, they agreed to end hostilities, but with the recent problems in Iraq, many Kurds are fleeing the area again. In the third quarter of last year,the most recent figures available, 4,300 Iraqis came to this country, the most of any nationality.

The Home Office was, however, unable to confirm how many of those were of Kurdish origin. In 2001, nine per cent of 71,365 asylum seekers were Iraqi.

Dr Ashti Nadar, an Iraqi Kurd who fled the region for London in 1990 and has become an immigration expert, said: "The area is not stable and there is no future. Kurds get persecuted from all angles.

"I left because I was living under the control of Sadamm Hussain and there was also pressures to become involved in fighting.

"I found it difficult to settle in England. It is very hard to get into the British culture and it is not easy for people to accept mine. This makes a lot of dilemmas and difficulties.

"The Kurds do not disappear once they come into this country. I don't know any Kurd who has done that. But Kurds are sort of safe because there is nowhere to return them to."