Many Iraqis who fled remain 'uprooted'

Violence has dropped in Iraq, but millions of civilians who fled their homes because of warfare in that country remain "uprooted," a refugee-advocate group said in a report released Wednesday. "Ongoing strife and persecution, occupied and ruined homes and lack of vital services in their communities of origin preclude most from returning home safely," the New York-based International Rescue Committee said in the report, "A Tough Road Home: Uprooted Iraqis in Jordan, Syria and Iraq." The report was prepared by the organization's Commission on Iraqi Refugees. "Only a tiny fraction of Iraq's displaced have returned home, in spite of reports that would suggest otherwise," the report said. "For the vast majority of those who remain uprooted, the situation is precarious and growing worse, yet aid levels that were inadequate to begin with are dropping off."