BAGHDAD -- An Iraqi official says that internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees are returning to their homes in a sign that a government plan is working, RFE/RL's Radio Free Iraq reports.

Judge Asghar al-Musawi, deputy minister of migration and displacement, told RFE/RL that nearly 89,500 families had returned to their homes since a ministry "return program" was launched in 2008. He said most of the returnees were IDPs but that many refugees had also returned from abroad.

Musawi said the figures were based only on those returnees who have registered with the government but there are many others who have not officially reported their return. He said the ministry would soon carry out surveys to ascertain the total number of refugees who have come back to Iraq.


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