The United Nations estimates there are now more than four million Iraqis who are either internally displaced or have fled the violence in their homeland to become refugees, mostly in neighboring states. Middle East analysts say the crisis is continuing to grow and is straining services in Syria and Jordan, where most of the refugees now live. VOA correspondent Meredith Buel has details in this background report from Washington.

The United Nations says the magnitude of the crisis is staggering. More than two million Iraqis are believed to be displaced inside the country, and another 2.2 million are refugees in other nations.

About 1.4 million refugees now live in Syria, 750,000 in Jordan, 80,000 in Egypt and about 200,000 in Persian Gulf countries...

The U.N. says the current exodus of Iraqis is the largest long-term population movement in the Middle East since the displacement of Palestinians following the creation of Israel in 1948.

Middle East analyst Nir Rosen, a fellow at the New America Foundation, says the millions of displaced Iraqis are likely to further destabilize the region.

"You will hear Iraqis say we are being treated like Palestinians," said Rosen. "We are the new Palestinians. I believe in years to come we will see them too becoming more organized, mobilized and indeed militarized and I think the Iraq conflict will become the Middle East conflict quite soon..."

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