A group of Palestinians fleeing violence in Iraq for neighboring Syria are stuck near a checkpoint, unable to cross the border, the United Nations refugee agency said on Friday.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees said the 41 Palestinians, some of whom lack travel documents, have been stranded in Iraq since December 16 after border authorities refused to let them cross.

The agency said the Palestinians have been told by Iraqi authorities that Syria will have to approve their entry before they can cross into the no-man's territory between Iraq and Syria, where 350 other Palestinians escaping violence have been since May.

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The 350 Palestinians came to the Tanaf checkpoint, about 190 miles (306 kilometers) northeast of Damascus after Syrian authorities allowed more than 280 Palestinians stranded for two months on the Iraq-Jordan border to enter its territory in what Syria said was a "humanitarian" gesture.

But the Syrian Foreign Ministry announced later it would not allow more Palestinians coming from Iraq to enter its territory, where more than 500,000 Palestinian refugees already live.

Astrid van Genderen Stort, a spokeswoman with the UNHCR, said the 350 Palestinians are living in tents and have had to endure flooding over recent months.

But Syria and Jordan, two of Iraq's neighbors with large numbers of Palestinian and Iraqi refugees, feel that other countries should share the burden, she said.

A local tribal leader has helped the stranded 41 Palestinians with accommodation, food and water, and the International Committee of the Red Cross has given them tents, blankets and stoves, UNHCR said.

There was no immediate comment from Syrian and Iraqi authorities.

The UN refugee agency urged Syria and other countries to assist the Palestinians.

Before the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, about 34,000 Palestinians lived there. More than three years later, about 15,000 remain, UNHCR said.