After a year of refuge in Syria, Ahmed Ali is returning home. He joined up to 800 other Iraqis who boarded buses Tuesday for a free lift back to Baghdad courtesy of the Iraqi government.

While Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government says improved security as a result of the US surge of troops is drawing refugees back, UN observers and many of the departing Iraqis themselves are skeptical about what awaits them back in Baghdad.

Still, for the first time since the war began in 2003, more Iraqis are returning home than are leaving, according to Iraqi government figures and UN officials.

For many, like Mr. Ali, they are returning because they have no choice. Tough economic realities and new visa restrictions in Syria are forcing them to leave.

"I have no money because there is no work for us here," he says, laying out on his hand what he said was the last of his money: a few Syrian coins worth less than $1.

He says he is not convinced that the drop in attacks in Baghdad will keep him safe.

"Even this bus will only protect me as far as Baghdad. Who's going to protect me after that?" asks Ali. Diyala Province, where he lives, remains violent despite a massive US-led effort over the summer to rout militants. A suicide bomber disguised as a shepherd killed nine people there Tuesday.

In Baghdad Tuesday, US troops fired on vehicles trying to drive through roadblocks in Baghdad and north of the Iraqi capital, killing at least five people, the US military said.

'I love my country'

Others who left on one of the 17 buses Tuesday said they were convinced life was improving in Iraq. "I'm going back because I love my country and security is getting better," said Abu Seif from Baghdad.

The Iraqi government recently said that 46,000 refugees returned in October, while a Syrian immigration official said that roughly 1,500 Iraqis crossed back over the border daily between Oct. 1 and Nov. 20.

"We are seeing for the first time that people are considering going back. Having said that, the majority of refugees are coming to us and saying they still don't think that it's safe," says Sybella Wilkes, spokeswoman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

A UNHCR survey of 110 families released last week said that 46 percent of Iraqis were leaving because they could not afford to stay and 26 percent were leaving due to new visa rules. Only 14 percent said they were returning because of improved security.

On Oct. 1, Syria introduced new regulations preventing Iraqis from obtaining free visas at the border, as was previously permitted. The Syrians say that, with very limited international support, they could no longer afford to host the refugees, which they claim cost more than $1 billion annually.

Page: 1 | 2