Geneva  - The number of people forced to flee inside their countries continued to rise in 2007 as a result of armed conflicts and violence, according to a report published Thursday by the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, and the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC).

The figures had topped 26 million, the highest global total since the 1990s, the report said.

Internal displacement was "arguably the most significant humanitarian challenge that we face,"said UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in over 50 countries, particularly women and children, were too frequently victims of the gravest human rights abuses.

"Despite being responsible for the well-being of citizens within their territory, many national governments in 2007 were still unwilling or unable to prevent people being forced from their homes, or provide adequate protection and assistance to those who had been displaced," said NRC Secretary-General Elisabeth Rasmusson.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres said the latest survey made sober reading.

"The world is currently facing a range of new threats and challenges, from instability sparked by rising food and fuel prices to the inability or unwillingness of some governments to provide their own uprooted people with adequate protection and assistance. "

People were driven from their homes in 2007 often because of long- standing internal conflicts.

The numbers of IDPs had risen sharply in Iraq where there were almost 2.5 million IDPs by the end of 2007, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (1.4 million IDPs) and Somalia (1 million), while the massive internally displaced populations of Sudan (5.8 million) and Colombia (up to 4 million) continued to grow.(dpa)