UN:THE WAR in Iraq and the conflicts in Colombia, Somalia and the Darfur region of Sudan have driven an increase in the global population of refugees and the displaced, according to a report by the UN's chief refugee agency.
The number of refugees climbed for the second consecutive year, rising from 9.9 million to 11.4 million, following a decade-long decline in the global refugee population.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) assisted more than 25 million people last year, including 13.7 million displaced within their own country, marking an "unprecedented" peak in the agency's operations, according to its 2007 Global Trends report.
Syria, Jordan and Lebanon reported an influx of more than 885,000 Iraqi refugees in 2007, according to UNHCR spokesman Peter Kessler. In contrast, only 110,000 Iraqis returned to their home country last year.
The latest UN figures show that the number of refugees from Africa continued a decade-long decline, dropping 6 per cent last year, as more than 1.5 million returned to their homes in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Southern Sudan, Liberia and Burundi.
The refugee agency said that 3.1 million people were displaced within their countries this year, while about 2.1 million returned to their homes. Well over 10 million more displaced people - including at least 3 million in Sudan - are cut off from international assistance or are forced to rely exclusively on their own governments for help.
Meanwhile, 4.6 million Palestinian refugees receive assistance from the UN Relief and Works Agency and are not included in UNHCR's data.
Pakistan, Iran, Syria and Jordan shoulder the heaviest burden, together playing host to nearly 5 million refugees, mostly Afghans and Iraqis. - ( Los Angeles Times/Washington Post service)