Ministry: 165.000 displaced families return to Anbar, 300.000 still out
Displaced Iraqis flee their homes as Iraqi forces battle with Islamic State militants, in western Mosul, Iraq March 18, 2017. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem
Anbar (Iraqinews.com) The number of dispalced families who had been repatriated to their hometowns in Anbar has stood at more than 165.000, according to the Iraqi government.
The Ministry of Migration and Displacement director in Anbar, Mohamed Rasheed, said in a press statement on Monday that while 165.107 families returned to their home areas in the province since mid 2016, there are more than 300.000 families still displaced outside the province.
The war against Islamic State militants in Iraq has displaced more than four million Iraqis since January 2014, according to Iraqi government figures. More than 670.000 were displaced since Iraqi government forces, backed by a U.S.-led coalition moved in October to drive the group out of Mosul, its largest urban stronghold in Iraq.
Islamic State militants have held Anbar’s western towns of Annah, Qaim and Rawa since 2014. Fighter jets from the Iraqi army and the allied U.S.-led coalition have also regularly pounded IS locations in the province. Local officials believe Islamic State is holding thousands of civilians at its western strongholds to use them as human shields against any future security offensive.
The Iraqi government and army commanders say they will aim at IS havens in Anbar once it is finished with eliminating the group from Mosul, its biggest bastion in Iraq.
IS has escalated its attacks against army and paramilitary forces in the province over the past few months, leaving several personnel dead.