UNHCR: Kurdistan Region will receive 400,000 Mosul IDPs

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – A UNHCR representative recently said that preparations are in progress to house nearly 400,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the Kurdistan Region when the Mosul offensive begins.

During an interview with Kurdistan24, Joseph Merks, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) representative in Erbil, revealed that close to 800,000 people are expected to flee Mosul.

“For the Mosul offensive, we already started to prepare,” he said. “As we speak, we already receive a lot of [IDPs].”

“[There are] around 800,000 people that might be displaced [and] more than 400,000 new displaced people that would come in the direction of the Kurdistan Region,” Merks explained.

The UNHCR representative stated that the organization is working together with the Region’s government to facilitate and accommodate the IDPs in camps.

He added that the camps would not be too close to the cities “to keep the IDPs as close as possible but [at] a safe distance from the front line.”

Merks suggested that efforts would be made to house some displaced people with family members or friends in certain areas.

He also mentioned that the host cities such as Duhok or Erbil need support because their resources are limited.

The UNHCR representative explained that the organization is implementing projects where they would build schools, renovate health centers, and improve water distribution.

“We implement small projects that are not only for refugees or [IDPs], but also for the host communities so they can better receive [newly] displaced people, new refugees,” Merks said.

He was optimistic that these projects would not only benefit the refugees and IDPs but would improve the host cities as well.

(Additional reporting by Diyari Shekha from Erbil)