More Iraqis Fleeing Strife and Segregating by Sect
By DAMIEN CAVE
BAGHDAD, Iraq, July 20 — Relentless sectarian violence is forcing Iraqi families to flee their homes in ever larger numbers, according to figures released Thursday by the Iraqi government.
Sattar Nowruz, a spokesman for the Ministry of Displacement and Migration, said 1,117 families abandoned mixed areas for Shiite or Sunni strongholds in the last week alone, an increase since March that analysts described as a conservative snapshot of internal migration.
In all, he said, nearly 27,000 families, about 162,000 people, had registered for relocation aid since the bombing of a Shiite shrine in Samarra on Feb. 22, which set off waves of killings, kidnappings and reprisals.
The migration was “a dangerous sign” of accelerated religious segregation, he said.
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