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| Iraqis return home 'in thousands' | Iraqis return home 'in thousands' |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| An estimated 1,000 people a day are returning across Iraq's borders having previously moving abroad to escape the violence, Iraqi authorities say. | An estimated 1,000 people a day are returning across Iraq's borders having previously moving abroad to escape the violence, Iraqi authorities say. |
| Most of the returnees are coming from Syria - and very few from Jordan, where better-off refugees tended to go. | Most of the returnees are coming from Syria - and very few from Jordan, where better-off refugees tended to go. |
| An improving security situation - but also the lack of job opportunities for Iraqis in Syria - may account for the move, correspondents say. | An improving security situation - but also the lack of job opportunities for Iraqis in Syria - may account for the move, correspondents say. |
| However, at least five people died in a bombing in Ramadi on Wednesday. | However, at least five people died in a bombing in Ramadi on Wednesday. |
| A suicide bomber slammed a vehicle into a courthouse compound, police said. | A suicide bomber slammed a vehicle into a courthouse compound, police said. |
| The attack came as a sudden return to violence in a region which has become markedly more peaceful since Sunni tribesmen joined forces with the US military to tackle al-Qaeda militants last year. | |
| Violence falls | Violence falls |
| Over 4.4m Iraqis are thought to have been displaced by violence since the US-led invasion of 2003 - but a growing trickle of those who fled the country are now coming back. | Over 4.4m Iraqis are thought to have been displaced by violence since the US-led invasion of 2003 - but a growing trickle of those who fled the country are now coming back. |
| Iraq's ministry of migration told the BBC about 1,000 people were returning every day. | Iraq's ministry of migration told the BBC about 1,000 people were returning every day. |
| WHERE IRAQIS HAVE FLED TO Syria: 1,400,000Jordan: 750,000Gulf states: 200,000Egypt: 100,000Iran: 54,000Lebanon: 40,000Turkey: 10,000Internally displaced: At least 2,000,000 Source: UNHCR (October 2007) Syria struggles with influx Baghdad voices: Security Map showing refugee flow | |
| The UN's refugee agency, the UNHCR, estimates about 45,000 Iraqis returned from Syria in October - the first month of the school year. | The UN's refugee agency, the UNHCR, estimates about 45,000 Iraqis returned from Syria in October - the first month of the school year. |
| One factor in their return is likely to be a sharp and sustained drop in all kinds of violence, particularly in parts of the capital Baghdad, over past months following a US-Iraqi military "surge". | One factor in their return is likely to be a sharp and sustained drop in all kinds of violence, particularly in parts of the capital Baghdad, over past months following a US-Iraqi military "surge". |
| But the stream of returnees from Syria is not being matched by return traffic from Jordan, where there may be as many as a million Iraqi refugees. | But the stream of returnees from Syria is not being matched by return traffic from Jordan, where there may be as many as a million Iraqi refugees. |
| That is probably because those in Syria are poorer, so their savings have run out more quickly, says the BBC's Jim Muir in Baghdad. | That is probably because those in Syria are poorer, so their savings have run out more quickly, says the BBC's Jim Muir in Baghdad. |
| Incentives | Incentives |
| Syrian authorities, who have seen the population swelled by up to 10% by the flood of Iraqi refugees, have begun imposing visa requirements on Iraqi immigrants. | Syrian authorities, who have seen the population swelled by up to 10% by the flood of Iraqi refugees, have begun imposing visa requirements on Iraqi immigrants. |
| After all this effort to fix the house I hope there will be no more fighting. But I think the violence will be back again Abu NaseemRetired policeman who has returned home to Baghdad | |
| But in addition, Iraqi authorities have also been providing incentives for refugees to return, such as free bus rides from Syria. | But in addition, Iraqi authorities have also been providing incentives for refugees to return, such as free bus rides from Syria. |
| They have also tried to encourage those Iraqis displaced inside the country - who constitute about half the total - to return to their homes by offering families grants of $800 to do so. | They have also tried to encourage those Iraqis displaced inside the country - who constitute about half the total - to return to their homes by offering families grants of $800 to do so. |
| So far 4,700 families have taken up the offer with another 8,500 registered for them. | So far 4,700 families have taken up the offer with another 8,500 registered for them. |
| But not all the returnees are confident the security improvement is permanent. | But not all the returnees are confident the security improvement is permanent. |
| Watching decorators paint the home he has returned to in east Baghdad from Syria, retired policeman Abu Naseem told Reuters news agency: "After all this effort to fix the house I hope there will be no more fighting. | Watching decorators paint the home he has returned to in east Baghdad from Syria, retired policeman Abu Naseem told Reuters news agency: "After all this effort to fix the house I hope there will be no more fighting. |
| "But I think the violence will be back again." | "But I think the violence will be back again." |
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