10,000 families flee Salahuddin, Kirkuk toward Sulaimaniya
A displaced Iraqi man who fled from clashes, carries children in western Mosul, Iraq, June 3, 2017. REUTERS/Alaa Al-Marjani
Speaking to Alghad Press on Thursday, the source said, “Around 1,000 displaced persons have fled Tuz Khurmatu in Salahuddin to Kefra in Sulaimaniya.”
Moreover, “4,000 families have fled Kirkuk and Tuz Khurmatu toward Erbil. While another 5,000 families headed to Chamchamal in Sulaimaniya.”
“More civilians are expected to flee over the coming few hours,” the source added.
Iraqi troops, backed by Popular Mobilization Forces, took over Kirkuk province from Kurdish Peshmerga fighters on Tuesday, fulfilling Abadi’s earlier directives to retake areas where sovereignty is disputed with Kurdistan Region’s Government. The main oil fields, military bases, airports and government facilities in Kirkuk were retaken late on Sunday as part of an operation.
On Thursday, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said 673,000 civilians are still displaced from their homes in Mosul. On the same day, Iraqi Migration and Displacement Minister Jassem al-Jaff said Thursday that refugees from Nineveh, Kirkuk’s Hawija, Salahuddin’s Shirqat and Anbar’s Rawa and Qaim reached 1,140,388 since October 2016.
Around four million civilians were internally displaced, while thousands of others fled toward neighboring countries including Syria, Turkey and other European countries, since IS emerged to proclaim its self-styled “caliphate”.