EU ‘deeply troubled’ by Iraq’s closure of displacement camp: Ambassador

The Iraqi government has sought to return displaced people to their hometowns, many of which have been reduced to rubble or have little to no infrastructure or public services.
Displaced Iraqis transport their belongings in a truck. (Photo: AFP)
Displaced Iraqis transport their belongings in a truck. (Photo: AFP)

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The European Union announced on Thursday that it is “deeply troubled” by the closure of a camp in Iraq’s Nineveh province, which hosts nearly 1,700 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), warning that such closures would “result in more secondary displacement.”

In a tweet on Thursday, EU Ambassador to Iraq Martin Huth expressed his concerns regarding the closure of the Al-Jed’a IDP camp in Iraq’s northern Mosul, which had hosted nearly 1,700 displaced persons.

“Deeply troubled by reports of ongoing and uncoordinated closure of Al-Jed’a IDP camp by Iraqi authorities that will likely result in more secondary displacement,” the European ambassador said, adding that the EU supports the “voluntary, organized, and dignified return” of the displaced Iraqis.

Following the territorial defeat of the so-called Islamic State in Iraq in late 2017, the Iraqi government has sought to return displaced people to their hometowns, many of which have been reduced to rubble or have little to no infrastructure or public services. Multiple international organizations including the UN have loudly voiced concerns that most of these areas are also still extremely unsafe.

In early December, the UN announced that it is “gravely concerned about the thousands of civilians who have been moved from camps of IDPs in the last six weeks and have not yet found new homes,” adding that closures would be “affecting more than 27,000 people, 78 percent of whom are women and children who were already vulnerable.”

Read More: UN ‘gravely concerned’ as Iraq closes camps before displaced can safely return home

The Kurdistan Region, meanwhile, which continues to host the largest number of refugees and IDPs in Iraq, announced that it would not close camps before displaced Iraqis can safely return home.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany