Sept. 10 deadline set for Iraqi IDPs to return home

“Those [IDPs] who do not return to their home [beyond Sep. 10] will no longer be considered IDPs,” Kazim added.

Kurdistan 24 2023/08/12 17:25

An IDP camp in Iraq. (Photo: Kurdistan 24)

Iraq IDPs Iraqi Ministry of Migration and Displacement militia groups

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Iraqi Ministry of Migration and Displacement in a statement on Saturday revealed the deadline for the return of internally displaced persons (IDPs) to their homes.

The ministry set Sept.10 as the deadline.

Meanwhile, Muwafaq Kazim, director of the migration department in Babylon Province, announced that there are more than 5,000 IDPs in Tal Afar, Jurf al-Nasr, Anbar, and Babylon Provinces.

“Those [IDPs] who do not return to their home [beyond Sep. 10] will no longer be considered IDPs,” Kazim added.

More than 400,000 IDPs have faced obstacles to return to their cities, especially in the Jurf Sakhar Subdistrict in northern Babylon, where armed groups and militias such as Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba, Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq, and Kata'ib Jund al-Imam have been in control of the areas since 2014.

Moreover, human rights activist Hala Azawi said that IDPs cannot return home because their areas are still in ruins and controlled by militia groups.

"The case is humanitarian and cannot be ended in this way, which will increase the suffering of the IDPs. Therefore, the Iraqi government is responsible to solve their issues,” the activist noted.

In May 2023, it was reported that the Kurdistan Region shelters a staggering 928,649 IDPs and refugees, according to the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Joint Crisis Coordination Center (JCC).

At the time, the KRG Minister of Interior Reber Ahmed said that despite Iraq’s “enormous budget,” Baghdad has not fulfilled its duties with regard to refugees and IDPs.