FEELING SAFER, IRAQIS COME HOME, BUT ONLY A FEW

Of some 5.1 million Iraqis uprooted from their homes, some 78,180 - fewer than 1 percent - had returned by March 31, according to the International Organization for Migration, an intergovernmental humanitarian group based in Switzerland.

Up to half the displaced are in neighboring countries, chiefly Jordan and Syria. But these countries, feeling overwhelmed, have tightened visa restrictions. Meanwhile Iraqis who are refugees in their own country are feeling the pinch of high rents, lost jobs and the disruption of their children's education.

Yet the U.N. and aid agencies warn that despite the drop in violence, a rapid mass return of Iraqis demanding their old homes back may only reignite sectarian tensions.

So the exodus from Iraq remains possibly the biggest crisis of its kind in the world today, and could stay that way indefinitely.

By KIM GAMELAssociated Press Writer
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