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Report: 2 Million Iraqis Internally Displaced in 2014


Displaced Iraqi children, who fled from Islamic State violence in Mosul, play in a refugee camp on the outskirts of the Kurdish city of Erbil, Dec. 1, 2014.
Displaced Iraqi children, who fled from Islamic State violence in Mosul, play in a refugee camp on the outskirts of the Kurdish city of Erbil, Dec. 1, 2014.

International monitors say violence in Iraq has internally displaced more than two million people this year.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported Tuesday that the greatest number of people uprooted are from the province of Ninewa, with nearly one million people forced to flee their homes. Anbar province was the second most affected with more than half a million people uprooted.

Both Ninewa and Anbar have been devastated by the advance of Islamic State militants and counter-offensives by Iraqi security forces and a U.S.-led coalition.

The IOM reports the Kurdistan region of Iraq hosts 47 percent of the displaced. Central Iraq hosts 45 percent, with the remainder taking refuge in the south.

IOM's mission chief in Iraq, Thomas Lothar Weiss, said "the massive humanitarian needs in Iraq require a coordinated response and greater commitment for the international community, as the humanitarian needs are greater than our current funding level can provide."

IOM assists the displaced with shelter, transportation and primary health care, as well as psychosocial and work-related support.

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