US group: Relief lacking for displaced Iraqis

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
The failure of the United States, the United Nations and the Iraqi government to help Iraqis who flee their homes to escape violence is compounding what has already become "the world's fastest growing displacement crisis," a refugee advocacy group said in a report Thursday. The report by Refugees International found a growing number of internally displaced persons in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq, where many Iraqis have fled, are not receiving adequate help to find food or education if they reach the more secure area. More than 1.9 million Iraqis have become homeless within the country, with one million more expected to follow this year, the report said, citing numbers from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. "The UN and US and Iraqi governments are still in denial about the crisis on the ground in Iraq," said the report's author, Kristele Younes, of the Washington-based group.