Two million displaced inside Iraq since US invasion: report

An internally displaced Iraqi man cooks food on a makeshift stove in his hut erected on unoccupied land in the central Al-Karrada neighbourhood of Baghdad, August 2007. Nearly two million Iraqis have fled their homes for other parts of Iraq since the US invasion, creating a "human tragedy without precedence," the country's Red Crescent has said in a report.
(AFP/File)



Two million displaced inside Iraq since US invasion: report
09-22-2007, 11h11
BAGHDAD (AFP)


Nearly two million Iraqis have fled their homes for other parts of Iraq since the US invasion, creating a "unprecedented human tragedy," the country's Red Crescent said in a report.

The figure covers only those internally displaced and does not include the UN-estimated two million others who have also fled but left their homeland completely, to go to Syria, Jordan, other neighbouring countries and even to Europe.

As at August 31 this year, 1,930,946 people had left their homes to seek safety elsewhere within Iraq's borders since the March 2003 invasion, creating a record in the annals of Iraq's human upheaval, the humanitarian society said.

Most were women and children -- poor, sick, suffering from malnutrition and with little access to the country's health infrastructure or basic services.

"Heads of families have very often fled or joined an armed group... Rape, armed gangs, theft, drug addiction" were commonplace among internally displaced people, the Red Crescent said.

"The horror of daily slaughter and attacks has a serious impact on the psychological health of the women and children. The overall picture is that of a human tragedy unprecedented in Iraq's history."


Rest of article at: http://www.turkishpress.com/news.asp?id=195168