UN survey finds Iraqis regret returning to Baghdad

Oct. 7: A boy examines the wreckage of a bomb after an attack hit a vegetable market south of Baghdad. (AP)

GENEVA – The U.N. refugee agency says 61 percent of Iraqis who fled the country but then returned to Baghdad in 2007 and 2008 regretted coming back.

A spokeswoman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees says 2,353 Iraqis were interviewed earlier this year. Of those who expressed regret, some 60 percent cited security concerns such as bombings, harassment, military operations and kidnappings.

Melissa Fleming says the survey also found 34 percent of those polled would consider leaving Iraq again unless conditions improve.

Fleming told reporters in Geneva on Tuesday that many interviewees claimed they were forced to return to Iraq because they couldn't afford the high cost of living in neighboring countries such as Syria and Jordan.