Cash to 150 displaced families in Ninewa

NINEWA / IraqiNews.com: Around 150 displaced families in Ninewa’s Basheeqa district have received 10 million Iraqi dinars each in financial assistance in accordance with Article 140 of the Iraqi constitution, a local source said on Sunday. “The assistance is offered by the Ministry for Areas outside the Kurdistan Region,” the head of Ninewa’s office for implementing Article 140, Salem Jumaa, told IraqiNews.com news agency. “A total of 1,660 families will benefit from the assistance,” Jumaa added. Article 140 of the Iraqi constitution is related to normalization in Kirkuk, an important and mixed city of Kurds, Turkmen, Christians, Arabs and Assyrians. Kurds seek to include the city into the autonomous Iraq’s Kurdistan region, while Sunni Muslims, Turkmen and Shiites oppose the incorporation. The article stipulates that all Arabs in Kirkuk be returned to their original locations in southern and central Iraqi areas, and formerly displaced residents returned to Kirkuk, 250 km northeast of Baghdad. The article also calls for conducting a census to be followed by a referendum to let the inhabitants decide whether they would like Kirkuk to be annexed to the autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan region or having it as an independent province. Mosul, the capital city of Ninewa province, lies 405 km north of Baghdad. SS (S)/SR 1