Over 37,000 displaced people repatriated in three Iraqi provinces
Displaced families on their way home in Iraq
Najaf (IraqiNews.com) – Over 37,000 internally-displaced people have been repatriated in three Iraqi provinces, a human rights group said Tuesday.
“As many as 37,290 internally-displaced people have returned to Nineveh, Anbar and Kirkuk provinces coming from Najaf camps,” Almaalomah News quoted Fadel el-Gharawy, the member of the Iraqi High Commission for Human Rights (IHCHR), as saying in a statement.
Iraqi authorities had unveiled plans to repatriate all refugees before this year’s end.
Violence in the country has surged further with the emergence of Islamic State extremist militants who proclaimed an “Islamic Caliphate” in Iraq and Syria in 2014.
The surge in violence between armed groups and government forces has resulted in over five million internally displaced persons across Iraq and left more than 11 million in need of humanitarian assistance, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Nearly a half of internally-displaced people have been repatriated so far, according to United Nations figures.
Iraq’s war against the Islamic State has also left thousands dead, according to government and United Nations figures. In 2017 alone, violence left more than 3000 dead and more than 4000 wounded.
The government is, however, facing the challenge of adapting repatriated civilians to war-demolished infrastructure.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi announced, in December, full liberation of Iraqi lands, declaring end of war against IS members.