Internal displacement of people in conflict-torn Iraq has reached 3.2 million, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said in a statement Saturday. The displaced Iraqis are living in critical conditions, according to the statement on the IOM website. "Of the nearly 3.2 million displaced, one out of five are living in critical shelter arrangements, including unfinished buildings and informal settlements," IOM Iraq Chief of Mission Thomas Lothar Weiss said, as cited by the organization. The majority of the displaced were reported to be originally from the governorates of Anbar — 42 percent, Ninewa — 32 percent, and Salah al-Din — 13 percent, according to the statement. According to the statement, the IOM is working with the UN Humanitarian Country Team, government authorities and the organization's donors to provide non-food item kits, shelter, health care and psycho-social support that the displaced Iraqis need to survive. The United States, together with its allies, invaded Iraq in March 2003 and officially pulled its troops out in 2011. The war, which resulted in the overthrow of Saddam Hussein's regime, claimed the lives of about 200,000 soldiers and civilians, leaving thousands displaced. Recently, the Islamic State militants seized vast areas of Iraq, triggering further humanitarian crisis in the country.
