UNHCR: Number of people displaced by conflict at all-time high

The Guardian

By HAROON SIDDIQUE

The number of people internally displaced within their own countries has reached a historical high of more than 28 million, the UN’s refugee agency said today, as conflicts in Pakistan’s Swat valley and Sri Lanka compound a growing global problem.

At the end of last year the total number of people forcibly uprooted by conflict and persecution around the world stood at 42 million, including 16 million refugees and asylum seekers and 26 million internally displaced people uprooted within their own countries, according to UNHCR’s annual Global Trends report, which was released this afternoon.

PHILIPPINES: One killed, three wounded in Muslim rebel attack in Philippines

By DEUTSCHE PRESSE AGENTUR (DPA)

Manila_(dpa) _ One civilian was killed and three were wounded in an attack by Muslim separatist rebels in the southern Philippines, an army spokesman said Tuesday.

The wounded included Councillor Jordan Ibrahim of South Upi town in Maguindanao province, 960 kilometres south of Manila, Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Ponce said.

Ponce said Ibrahim and the civilians were travelling to a village for a visit on Monday when Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels ambushed their vehicle.

“The MILF are very desperate and even civilians are now targets. (This is) a clear indication that they are going wild,” he said.