UN Says 150,000 Iraqis Displaced In Recent Months

Iraqi refugees at a camp near Ba'qubah, in central Iraq (file photo) (epa) PRAGUE, June 27, 2006 (RFE/RL) -- A United Nations agency says it is "concerned" at the recent upsurge in violence in Iraq, which it says has resulted in "significant population movements" in various parts of the country.

The UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) says the past four months of "increasing violence and relentless sectarian tensions" have resulted in the displacement of an additional 150,000 people.

UNAMI says it is estimated that 1.3 million individuals are displaced inside Iraq, nearly 5 percent of the country's total population.

The figure does not include those who have sought refuge with relatives or fled abroad.

Iraq's Ministry of Displaced Persons and Migration said on June 26 that sectarian violence in the past four months had pushed the number of displaced people to over 130,000.