16,000 displaced families in Karbala- governor

KARBALA / IraqiNews.com: A total of 16,000 displaced families are currently living in Karbala province, whose total population has reached 1.2 million, the province’s governor said on Wednesday. In the presence of the prime minister’s adviser, Mohammad Salman al-Saadi; Governor Amal al-Din al-Hir has informed the minister of displacement and migration, Abdulsamad Rahman, of the presence of 16,000 displaced families in Karbala. Only 1,650 families have returned to their places of origin, the governor noted. Displaced families are welcomed into the province, but the large number of internally displaced persons imposes a heavier load on the services in the province, the governor pointed out. “New methods have to be implemented to help those families return home,” he added. “Karbala is already suffering from lack of services, schools and allocations,” according to the governor. The holy Shiite city of Karbala lies 110 km southwest of the Iraqi capital Baghdad. SS (P)/SR 1