By Nicholas Kralev

The United Nations has made it harder for Iraqis from Anbar and southern provinces to receive official refugee status because of security gains there, but still advises against "massive returns" to Iraq of those who fled abroad. Until now, Iraqi citizenship was sufficient for hundreds of thousands fleeing the war-torn country to receive automatic refugee status, with benefits including financial assistance and U.N. help with resettlement in another country. However, the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said this week that asylum seekers from Anbar, a western largely Sunni province, and Iraq's southern provinces, which are mostly Shi'ite, will no longer be eligible for automatic approval but will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

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