United Nations, Aug 30 (IANS): More than 1.6 million people in Iraq have been displaced since the start of the year, a UN spokesperson said here Friday citing a report.

"It is estimated that over 600,000 people were displaced in August alone," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said quoting The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in a report.

The internally displaced people were living in over 1,500 locations across the country, often in extremely dire conditions, Xinhua quoted the official as saying.

The rise in the number of displaced persons was due to fresh violence in various parts of the country, particularly Ninewa, Diyala and Anbar provinces, he said.

The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) and its partners have conducted assessments for nearly 190,000 people since February, Dujarric said.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) is hoping to deliver medicines and supplies to Al Alam district, in Salah Aldin Governorate. The shipment will help some 15,000 people for a month.

The surge in violence between armed groups and government forces has left hundreds of thousands of people in need of assistance in Iraq.