Kabul, March 17 : A total of 4,986 Afghan refugees have returned to their homeland from neighbouring Iran over the past two days, the Ministry for Refugees and Repatriation Affairs in Kabul said on Thursday.

There are 2.6 million registered Afghan refugees in the world, of whom 2.2 million are registered in Iran and Pakistan alone.

Another 3.5 million people are internally displaced, having fled their homes searching for refuge within the country.