Iraq - A Bloody Mess

A U.S. helicopter hovers over Haifa Street in Baghdad January 9, 2007. REUTERS/Namir Noor-Eldeen

UN launches £30m Iraq refugees appeal

One in eight Iraqis have left their homes in what is the largest long-term population movement in the Middle East since the displacement of the Palestinians in 1948, the UN's refugee agency said today.

The UNHCR released the figures as it launched an appeal for $60m (£30.8m) in emergency aid for hundreds of thousands of Iraqi refugees and internally displaced" people.

Many people who have left Iraq or moved to other parts of the country have run out of resources or would do soon, the organisation said, leaving them and their host communities increasingly vulnerable.

"There are increasing reports of women forced to resort to prostitution, as well as growing child labour problems," the UNHCR said. "The appeal includes programmes to identify and register the most vulnerable among the displaced so they can get the support they need."

The organisation and its partners estimate that, of a total Iraqi population of 26 million, around 1.7 million Iraqis are internally displaced and up to two million people have fled to nearby countries.

If Iraq is such a 'example of democracy' why have so many Iraqis been forced to flee? Could not have anything to do with the civil war going on or the lack of infrastructure.

I imagine a lot of the conflict going on right now could of been fixed if clean water and electricity was provided regularly, instead of bothering to do boring stuff like that oil companies are rubbing their hands with glee over the oil in Iraq and how this can be used to manipulate prices. Meanwhile the Bush Junta continue to live in fantasy land and the Neocons are crying because their illusions have been shattered and their war supporters are falling over themselves to justify the continuation of this bloody war, labeling anyone who disagrees an 'Islamofascist supporter', they are unable to admit when wrong and choose to lie instead.

It saddens me how those who criticised this war at the start were pushed to the sidelines, attacked or ignored and have now been proven right.