Over 1,600 IDPs have returned home, ministry announces

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Iraqi Ministry of Displacement and Migration on Wednesday announced the return of more than 1,600 internally displaced people to five provinces.

Housed in the Ashti Camp in the Kurdistan Region’s southeastern Sulaimani province, 301 families have returned back to their homes in Baghdad, Saladin, Anbar, Diyala, and Nineveh provinces, the ministry announced.

The new returnees are part of the government’s “stabilization program” for families who were displaced by the three-year war against ISIS.

The Iraqi government has closed down all IDP camps within its jurisdiction as part of its effort to “end displacement” in the country. 

Jad’a Camp in the Nineveh province is now functioning as a rehabilitation center for Iraqis returning from Syria’s Al-Hol Camp, who are suspected of having ties to ISIS.

The Kurdistan Region still hosts more than 34,000 IDP camps throughout its provinces.

The Region’s authorities have reiterated on numerous occasions that they would not force the displaced population to return back to their homes without adequate security guarantees and services.

Sinjar district, the heartland of the Yezidis—who suffered a genocidal campaign in 2014 at the hands of ISIS—is still reeling from the destruction caused by the group. The presence of militia groups has made the area susceptible to regional rivalries.

Turkish drones conducted two aerial deadly strikes targeting suspected PKK-affiliated militant forces in less than a week in the district. Civilians have become victims of similar attacks in the past.