Fearing bloody sectarian clashes, hundreds of civilians flee homes in Iraq’s Diyala

At least 70 households have been vacated since Wednesday.
Mourners in southern province of Najaf surround the caskets of victims of yesterday's attack on the village of Al-Rashad in Iraq's eastern Diyala province, Oct. 27, 2021. (Photo: Ali Najafi/AFP)
Mourners in southern province of Najaf surround the caskets of victims of yesterday's attack on the village of Al-Rashad in Iraq's eastern Diyala province, Oct. 27, 2021. (Photo: Ali Najafi/AFP)

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Hundreds of villagers have fled their homes in Iraq’s eastern Diyala province amid rising fears of another violent sectarian conflict breaking out there following an Islamic State (ISIS) attack earlier this week. 

On Tuesday night, ISIS attacked the al-Rashad village in Sharaban (Muqdadiya) town in Diyala, killing 15 civilians and wounding many others. 

Al-Rashad’s population is primarily Shiite Muslim. Reports indicated that local villagers took up arms and attacked the nearby Sunni-majority village of Nahr al-Imam in retaliation the following day. They reportedly killed a dozen people and set fire to houses. 

The residents of al-Rashad village and families of the victims accused that Sunni-majority village of harboring the ISIS militants behind Tuesday’s attack on them, locals told The National. 

At least 70 households have been vacated since Wednesday. The families from those homes are currently being sheltered in mosques in Sharaban town, local sources told Kurdistan 24 on Thursday. 

The local government of Diyala and non-governmental organizations have provided each of the fleeing families with 500,000 Iraqi dinars (nearly $350) in cash, the sources added. 

Fear of revenge attacks has also sparked panic among nearby Sunni villagers. 

The Kurdistan Region’s top officials, including Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, “strongly condemned” the deadly attack on al-Rashad and said combating ISIS requires a “collective, regional response”.

Read More: PM Masrour Barzani strongly condemns deadly ISIS attack in Diyala

Sharaban is one of the disputed territories between Erbil and Baghdad in Diyala province. 

During the peak of sectarian clashes back in 2006-2007, the Sunni and Shiite villages in Sharaban were at the center of that bloody sectarian conflict.