Wednesday 18 June 2008

Refugees highest level in history: UN

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says there are more displaced people in the world than at any time in history, with the bulk of them coming from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Launching its report in London, the UN agency said 67 million people have been forced out of their homes by conflict, persecution and natural disasters.

In recent years, resettlement in Afghanistan had seen numbers drop, but in 2007 the total cared for by the UNHCR jumped by 3 million people, and the UN says the number is likely to rise.

There are 3.1 million Afghan refugees, mostly now in Pakistan and Iran and 2.3 million Iraqis, with many of them now in Syria and Jordan.

In addition there are also 2.4 million people still in Iraq who have been forced to leave their homes.

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