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Sectarian violence in the current conflict began to grow from early 2005. But the destruction of an important Shia shrine in February 2006 saw attacks between Sunni and Shia militias increase dramatically.
The fear caused by sectarian attacks has seen many Iraqi families abandon their homes and move to other areas within the country that are dominated by their own religious or ethnic group.
The International Organization for Migration, IOM, which monitor numbers of displaced families, says most people are moving to be with friends and relations.
The United Nations' refugee body says the number of Iraqis living beyond the country's borders as refugees is about two million.
Many of these are living in Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon and the Gulf states.
The majority of internally displaced persons (IDPs) assessed by the IOM move in 2006, following a rise in violence after the attack on the Shia shrine.
There was another surge in displacement in spring 2007, possibly following increased military operations around Baghdad, but since then the rate has slowed. At the end of the year, the IOM said the total number of internally displaced persons was about 2.4m.
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