angelinasyria1.jpgbradsyria2.jpgimages courtesy of UNHCR / S. Malkawi

UN ambassador Angelina Jolie and her partner Brad Pitt are currently in Syria, and earlier today the couple visited the poverty stricken suburbs of Damascus to sit down and chat with a handful of Iraqi refugee families.

Angelina held hands with a woman who recounted the horrific tale of her abduction and torture, and the Oscar-wining actress was nearly reduced to tears. "I'm grateful to you for sharing this story," Angelina told her. "It helps to make it easier to understand your problems. There's a lot of suffering in this part of the world; you're a very brave and strong woman for putting this behind you for the sake of your children."

Brad took the time to play with some of the refugee children, and Angelina discussed the crisis with Syrian President Bashar Assad and his wife, Asma. Angie also spoke about the upcoming Iraqi parliamentary elections (scheduled for January 16) and the UNHCR quoted Angelina as saying, "Most Iraqi refugees cannot return to Iraq in view of the severe trauma they experienced there, the uncertainty linked to the coming Iraqi elections, the security issues and the lack of basic services. They will, therefore, be in need of continued support from the international community."

This is Angelina's second visit to Syria in two years.