UN: more than 22,000 displaced families in Iraq

More than 22,000 Iraqi families are displaced and the United Nations is warning of an increase in numbers.

The actual number, the UN said, is likely to be higher as not all those who fled their homes have registered with the UN.

Most of those who fled their homes headed to the central region of the country, with a large number fleeing to Kurdistan.

On Wednesday morning, Iraqi security and medical officials said that violence in the cities of Mosul and Baquba, north of Baghdad, left five Iraqis dead.

Clashes between the Iraqi army and the Sunni militias have been continuous for the third week. The clashes started when the Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki decided to forcefully disperse a protest against his government calling for the release of prisoners.

More than 1,400 Iraqis have been killed since the start of the clashes, which started in the Sunni Fallujah and Al-Anbar cities, both in the Al-Anbar Province.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and other diplomats have called for the Shiite-led government to resolve long-standing grievances in the Sunni areas in order to end the violence.