"All the refugees sheltering in Shams camp, numbering 105 families, and others sheltering in Ahl camp, numbering 67 families, returned to their areas [of origin] in the towns of Ramadi, Qaim, Haditha, Ana and Amriya in Anbar province," Evan Fayaq, minister of Displacement and Migration of Iraq, announced in a statement on Monday.
The returnees from both camps numbered 860 displaced individuals, according to Fayaq.
"The families were brought to their original areas,” the minister said, adding that in "the next few days [we] will witness the closure of more camps in Baghdad and its outskirts."
The Islamic State group (ISIS) seized control of large swathes of Iraqi territory in 2014, forcing millions of people to flee. Many of the displaced fled to the relative safety of the Kurdistan Region, but others remained in federal Iraq.
Each returning family is entitled to receive a grant of $1,250 from Iraq's Ministry of Migration and Displaced People to help them resettle back into their communities.
According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), around 300,000 internally displaced persons still live in formal camp locations, and over 150,000 more live in informal settlements and cities throughout the country.
The Iraqi government declared the territorial defeat of ISIS in December 2017. The battle to retake territory from the group led to further displacement.
At the height of ISIS violence, some six million Iraqis were displaced across the country. Displacement was particularly pronounced in the north and west of the country – including the provinces of Anbar, Kirkuk and Salahaddin. While the majority of Iraq’s IDPs have returned home, some 1.6 million continue to reside in camps.
Many are reluctant to return home because of continuing violence in their home areas, a lack of reconstruction following the destruction of their homes, and little in the way of basic services. Some who voluntarily left the camps to salvage their homes and livelihoods have been forced to return to the camps, unable to piece together the basics.
A report by Human Rights Watch in 2019 documented a series of forced returns, highlighting both state force misconduct and civilian violence. Allegations against security forces include lying to IDPs about where they are being taken, and the forced return of IDPs to areas where ISIS activity is known to be rife.
The New York-based rights monitor claimed that more than 2,000 IDPs have been expelled from camps in Nineveh to their areas of origin in Salahaddin, Kirkuk, and Anbar.
“Some were forced to return to their home regions, despite fears for their safety, including from former neighbors who perceive them as being linked to the Islamic State. Some have come under attack since being forced home,” the report said.
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