Almost 18,000 individuals have been displaced in the past three
weeks in the 15 central and southern governorates of the volatile
Iraq, according to monitoring by IOM.

An estimated 290,000 people have now been displaced in these
governorates since February 2006 with a further 84,000 having been
forced to leave their homes in Iraq's three northern governorates,
where displacement is being monitored by IOM partners.

With no sign of further displacement ending and with the
possibility of surrounding borders being closed to Iraqi refugees,
IOM estimates that as many as an additional one million people
could be displaced this year in a country where pre-2006
displacement figures had reached about 1.4 million.

"The needs are enormous. Emergency supplies such as shelter and
food are needed urgently for these people who are suffering both
physically and psychologically from their ordeals," said Rafiq
Tschannen, IOM's chief of mission for Iraq. "We have to remember
that those who are internally displaced are largely people who
don't have the financial resources to leave the country to seek
safety and who have very few means to help themselves."

The rapidly escalating figures now also mean that there are
fewer communities with the capacity to absorb and help the newly
displaced.

"It means that for those seeking refuge, it is becoming harder
to find places in Iraq where they can find safety and shelter,"
said Dana Graber, IOM Iraq Displacement Specialist.

Several of the more stable Iraqi governorates have decided to
restrict entrance to or have closed their governorates altogether
to the internally displaced as new arrivals place an ever greater
burden on local hospitals, schools and sanitation facilities. In
addition, an increase in rent and unemployment is adding to growing
tension between the newly displaced and the host communities.

Many of the displaced are renting space in dilapidated buildings
or are building makeshift houses out of local material, such as
reeds and mud bricks. These shelters often lack electricity,
insulation, or sanitation and kitchen facilities.

IOM has received numerous reports that displaced children are
not attending school and instead are forced to work or beg for the
only income for their family. It is reported that some children in
Diyala between the ages of 10 to 14 have joined the local
insurgents, either for money or for revenge for incidents against
family members.

A lack of food and the deterioration of health services,
including the exodus of many health care professionals from Iraq,
are leading to a growing number of cases of malnutrition, disease,
and infections among children.

"The displaced children cannot live a normal life. They left
their schools, friends and childhood environment with a feeling of
abandonment. Being displaced is hard for the parents, too…
people suffer from cutting their ties, as it is not easy to leave
their homes with nothing," said one Iraqi who has fled the country
to Jordan but whose family members, some whom have been displaced,
remain in Iraq.

The displaced have reported to IOM that their top three most
urgent needs are shelter, employment, and food with 46 per cent of
them saying they have not received any food assistance. However,
insecurity and a lack of funding is making it harder for
humanitarian agencies to offer assistance, including IOM which last
year provided emergency distributions to more than 150,000 people,
while carrying out community assistance projects for the most
vulnerable populations.

"Despite the overwhelming needs of the displaced, our appeal for
Iraq last year was only 25 per cent successful. The prospects for
internal displacement this year are again grim. IOM has been
leading the emergency response to the displaced in Iraq but so far,
we have received even less confirmed funding for humanitarian work
for 2007," added Tschannen.

IOM released in-depth profiles on each of the 15 governorates
where it is monitoring, in addition to IOM's 2006 Iraq Displacement
in Review, which can be found at "paragraph-link-no-underline" href=
"http://www.iom-iraq.net/idp.html" target="_blank" title=
"">http://www.iom-iraq.net/idp.html.

For more information, please contact:

Rafiq Tschannen

IOM Iraq Chief of Mission

E-mail: "mailto:rtschannen@iom.int">rtschannen@iom.int 

Dana Graber

IOM Iraq Displacement Specialist

E-mail: "mailto:dgraber@iom.int">dgraber@iom.int