'Violence driving 9,000 Iraqis from homes every week'

Spiralling violence between Iraqi's Shiite and Sunni Muslim communities since February has pushed the number of internal refugees in central and southern Iraq to around 190,000, IOM spokeswoman Jemini Pandya told journalists.

The IOM said it is working with the Iraqi authorities to take stock of the problem.

"The displacement is increasingly looking like permanent settlement and there is urgent need for shelter and employment solutions for these families," said Pandya.

According to Rafiq Tschannen, the IOM's head of mission in Iraq, host communities are taking in the displaced, who are usually from the same religious community.