BAGHDAD, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- The International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Iraq said Tuesday that the number of displaced Iraqis has fallen below two million for the first time since 2014.
A total of 1,931,868 people remain displaced, the lowest figure since November 2014, when the Islamic State (IS) militants took control of large swathes in Iraq, and nearly four million people have returned home, said a statement of the IOM.
It said that the war against IS extremist militants caused the displacement of six million Iraqis, around 15 percent of the entire population of the country.
The highest number of returnees is in Iraq's northern province of Nineveh with 1.49 million people, the western province of Anbar came second with 1.27 million, while less numbers in the provinces of Salahudin, Kirkuk, Diyala and capital Baghdad, according to the statement.
IOM statement attributed the return of the displaced people to the "improved security situation, availability of housing, lack of financial means to remain in displacement, the encouragement of community leaders and support from friends and relatives as factors in their decision to return."
While the obstacles for returning include "damage or destruction of housing and infrastructure, security concerns and lack of access to income and job opportunities in areas of origin," it added.
"Hundreds of thousands of Iraqi families continue to be displaced and face significant obstacles to return. Both displaced and returnee populations are often vulnerable and need humanitarian assistance to regain their livelihoods and support their families," the statement said, quoting IOM Iraq Chief of Mission, Gerard Waite.
The security situation in Iraq has been dramatically improved after Iraqi security forces fully defeated the extremist IS militants across the country late in 2017.
