Iraq has no data for missing refugees, wants international help
Displaced Iraqi family from Mosul bake bread for their Iftar, during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan at a refugee camp al-Khazir in the outskirts of Erbil, Iraq June 10, 2017. Picture taken June 10, 2017. REUTERS/Erik De Castro
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) Iraq has no record of refugees missing inside the country, and is looking forward to getting foreign assistance in that respect, its minister of migration was quoted saying on Tuesday.
In a statement, Minister Jassem al-Jaff said his ministry has no database of the number of missing refugees, citing the huge number of refugees and camps, which makes it difficult to track missing persons.
He said Iraq could use the help of the International Commission on Missing Persons to assist displaced families who had lost members over the past period.
He made the statement meeting with Lena Larsson, head of the commission’s program in Iraq, who, according to the ministry’s statement, expressed readiness for help.
Nearly five million Iraqis have been displaced inside and outside Iraq the launch of military campaigns against Islamic State militants who had taken over large areas of Iraq in 2014.Iraq authorities declared victory over IS in December 2017, and say more than half of refugees have been repatriated. Security and relie teams have frequently declared the discovery of numerous mass graves containing the remains of civilians and security personnel executed by Islamic State militants over the past three years.