NAIROBI, April 1 (Xinhua) -- The number of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the Horn of Africa region stood at 24.5 million at the end of March, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said in a report on Tuesday.

The UN agencies observed a decline from 26.3 million initially due to increased returns and improved security in some affected countries, noting that the relatively improved security situation in Sudan allowed for returns from abroad and South Sudan.

Of the 24.5 million, 18.9 million are internally displaced, while 5.6 million are refugees and asylum seekers, according to the report.

The agencies also detected a rise in the number of those displaced following the escalation of conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in February.

The UNHCR and the IOM said approximately 69,854 new IDPs from North Kivu and South Kivu provinces in the DRC have arrived in Burundi since the conflict started, while prior to the conflict, the country was hosting some 89,000 refugees from the DRC.

Egypt hosts the largest number of refugees from Sudan with 1.5 million, followed by South Sudan with 1.08 million, and Chad with 769,716. Other countries hosting refugees from Sudan are Libya, Uganda, Ethiopia, and the Central African Republic.

The main causes of displacement in the region include conflict, the effects of climate change such as floods and droughts, and food insecurity. Enditem

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