UN: 500,000 Iraqi refugees may return in 2009

BY SLOBODAN LEKIC, Associated Press Writer

BRUSSELS, Belgium – If the security situation in Iraq continues to improve, the number of refugees and displaced people returning to their homes could more than double this year to 500,000, the U.N. refugee agency said Thursday.

After years of extreme violence Iraq is now experiencing markedly improved security, said Daniel Endres, Baghdad representative of the Geneva-based agency.

"Although this security remains fragile, last year we saw a significant return as a result," he told journalists in Brussels.

More than 220,000 Iraqis who fled abroad or were displaced within the country after the U.S.-led invasion returned home in 2008, according to U.N. statistics.

Still, nearly two million remain outside the country, mostly in Syria and Jordan, and an additional 1.6 million, forced from their homes by sectarian and ethnic violence, are displaced inside Iraq.

Iraqis currently make up the biggest group of asylum seekers in industrialized countries.

But international refugee organizations have been encouraged by the government's recent moves to normalize the situation and encourage returns. This includes setting up a special army unit charged with evicting militia members and others who moved illegally into homes owned by people forced to flee the violence.

Provincial elections for the ruling councils in 14 of Iraq's 18 provinces will be held on Saturday. They are seen as a dress rehearsal for national elections later this year.

"If everything continues to go well, including elections, property restitution and stability, it's possible that 500,000 people could return in 2009," Endres said.

Despite the drop in violence in 2008, the number of daily attacks remains high, he said.

Many refugees are also reluctant to return because standards of living in places such as Syria and Jordan are much better than in Iraq. Issues such as the lack of basic utilities and services, including perennial electricity shortages and problems with sewage, sanitation and other services, also hinder returns, Endres said.