BAGHDAD, December 2, 2004 (Reuters) - More than 200,000 people who fled Falluja ahead of the U.S. offensive have yet to return and many are in desperate need of aid, with temperatures in Iraq heading toward freezing, a new U.N. emergency report says.

Figures compiled by the International Organization for Migration show that 210,600 people, or more than 35,000 families, took refuge in towns and villages around Falluja in the build up to the U.S. assault, launched on Nov. 8.

Nearly all those people remain outside the city, where the population was estimated at 250,000-300,000 before the attack.

U.S. forces are maintaining a cordon around Falluja as sporadic fighting continues and are preventing refugees from returning, saying they want to stagger the return so that basic facilities can be restored before people go home.

Most areas of the city remain without power, water, sewage and other basic services and it is expected to take much longer than previously thought to start reconstruction as hundreds of buildings are completely destroyed.

"The return to Falluja may take a matter of months rather than days, as was previously suggested by multi-national forces," the document entitled "Emergency Working Group -- Falluja Crisis" and distributed by the United Nations said.

The report, compiled by various aid agencies and released this week, says access to the camps for internally-displaced people is sporadic due to insecurity and military operations.

"Some sites have received assistance, whereas others...are reportedly difficult to access even by the Iraqi Health Ministry," it said.

It described shortages of fresh food and cooking oil and said there was serious concern about the cold.

FALLING TEMPERATURES

Since October, when families first began fleeing Falluja, temperatures in central Iraq have fallen from around 85 degrees Fahrenheit (30 degrees Celsius) to 35 Fahrenheit (2 degrees Celsius) and sometimes colder overnight.

Many families fled with the clothes they were wearing and a few personal items, unprepared for the change in weather. "The temperature has dropped, underscoring an urgent need for winterization items and appropriate shelter," the report said, detailing more than 15,000 families in need of dry food, detergent, winter clothes, blankets, mattresses and heaters.
Iraq's Ministry of Industry and Minerals reportedly delivered around 8,000 blankets to refugee camps on Nov. 24, but no further details of the distribution were provided.

The only aid agency that has managed to get into Falluja to help the people who remained during the furious two-week offensive is the Iraqi Red Crescent Society.

It arrived with three truck loads of food and medical supplies, eight ambulances and several doctors, about 10 days ago and is working from offices in the city center.

The U.S. military is also attempting to provide assistance. At one aid distribution point, it recently delivered a supply of American snack food including frosted flakes, granola bars and bagel chips to needy families, many of whom were left confused by the foreign food and frustrated.

The offensive on Falluja was designed to rid the city of insurgents holed up there for months and put Iraqi security services back in charge in time for elections due on Jan. 30.

Despite continued intermittent fighting, U.S. forces crushed Falluja's insurgency, but there are fears rebels could filter back into the city and there are doubts that the city and it's residents will be ready for January's poll.

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