Geneva, Sep 23 (IANS): The number of Iraqis who took refuge in neighbouring countries increased sharply over recent weeks, said the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Tuesday.

Melissa Fleming, spokeswoman for UNHCR, told journalists that in August and September around 120 Iraqis per day on average have registered with the refugee agency in Jordan, up from 65 per day in June and July and just 30 per day in the first five months of this year, Xinhua reported.

Some 60 percent of those arriving in Jordan cited the fear of Islamic State (IS) militants as the reason for their flight.

Almost two-thirds of the new arrivals were from IS-controlled areas in Ninewa, Salah Al Din and Anbar governorates located in northern Iraq, as highlighted by Fleming.

"Refugees report their homes being burned, forced conversion to Islam, fears of forced marriage, kidnapping and public threats," she said.

The rest of the newly arrived refugees in Jordan have fled sectarian violence in Baghdad and Basra, according to the UN refugee agency.

Statistics showed that to date this year, over 10,600 Iraqi refugees have registered with the UNCHR in Jordan, with 1,383 registering in August alone which was the highest monthly tally of new registrations since 2007.

Moreover, some 103,000 Iraqi refugees have registered with the UN agency or its partners in Turkey, since IS forces took over the city of Mosul and surrounding areas in Ninewa governorate in June.

"We know many thousands more are in the eastern part of Turkey and have yet to come forward for registration," the refugee official said, indicating a larger actual number of Iraqi refugees in Turkey resulting from the ongoing hostilities in Iraq.