Iraq must aid refugees, not lure them home: group

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The Iraqi government and donor countries must do more to support millions of refugees living outside Iraq, rather than seeking to lure them home to a still-violent country, a refugee group said Thursday.

"Two million Iraqi refugees are increasingly desperate and few of them are willing to return home," Refugees International said in a report.

"The government should provide assistance to the displaced in the region while working to establish the right conditions for returning refugees, including security, essential services and effective means to resolve property disputes," it said.

According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), some 2.8 million Iraqis have been displaced from their homes within Iraq. Another 2 million are believed to be outside the country, mainly in Syria and Jordan.

The U.S.-backed government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has been encouraging Iraqis to come home as violence drops sharply across the country, providing free flights for some refugees and offering settlement payments to returnees.

Last month the government warned it would prosecute any squatters who remained in other people's homes in Baghdad, part of an effort to free up homes so that owners can return.

Yet violence continues, and the IOM says the number of families who have heeded those calls has been small, around 17,000 families returning to Baghdad as of September 21.

In its report, Washington-based Refugees International said it worried many refugees will not be resettled properly outside Iraq yet neither will they be able to return, especially religious minorities or those who were closely associated with Saddam Hussein's Baath party.

It also called on the government to help displaced Iraqis continue schooling and for neighboring countries to help them find work instead of focusing on encouraging returns.

It also encouraged donors to help countries where large numbers of Iraqis have landed, such as Syria and Lebanon. It said Jordan, unlike Syria, had received generous support from the United States.

(Reporting by Missy Ryan; Editing by Louise Ireland)