Sunni IDPs in Garmiyan administration under pressure from Iraqi Government
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Dozens of displaced Iraqis have resided in Garmiyan administration’s Tazade camp for eight years with no intention of returning home, despite the Iraqi government announcing the liberation of their areas five years ago.
The IDPs are from Diyala, Salahaddin, and Babylon provinces, with the majority of them being from Jurf al-Sakhar in Babylon province, an area controlled by militias.
Many of the camp’s residents have problems returning home and want to remain in the Kurdistan Region, claiming that Shiite militia groups have occupied their hometown, and do not let the original inhabitants return.
The Iraqi government wants the return of displaced people to their homes, and aims to do so through closing health centers and pressuring organizations to cut off aid to the camps, camp officials claim.
"The displaced people in the Kurdistan Region are under a lot of pressure from the Iraqi government, UN agencies, and international organizations to return to their areas," Bestun Zhalayi, head of Garmiyan administration’s humanitarian affairs, told Rudaw’s Hunar Hamid,
The Iraqi government wants the return of displaced people to their homes, and aims to do so through closing health centers and pressuring organizations to cut off aid to the camps, camp officials claim.
“The Ministry has taken a series of measures to facilitate their return by providing an appropriate environment and taking into account the protection of their dignity and the human conditions," Ali Jihangir, the spokesperson for Iraq’s Ministry of Displacement and Migration, told Rudaw.
The IDPs are from Diyala, Salahaddin, and Babylon provinces, with the majority of them being from Jurf al-Sakhar in Babylon province, an area controlled by militias.
Many of the camp’s residents have problems returning home and want to remain in the Kurdistan Region, claiming that Shiite militia groups have occupied their hometown, and do not let the original inhabitants return.
The Iraqi government wants the return of displaced people to their homes, and aims to do so through closing health centers and pressuring organizations to cut off aid to the camps, camp officials claim.
"The displaced people in the Kurdistan Region are under a lot of pressure from the Iraqi government, UN agencies, and international organizations to return to their areas," Bestun Zhalayi, head of Garmiyan administration’s humanitarian affairs, told Rudaw’s Hunar Hamid,
The Iraqi government wants the return of displaced people to their homes, and aims to do so through closing health centers and pressuring organizations to cut off aid to the camps, camp officials claim.
“The Ministry has taken a series of measures to facilitate their return by providing an appropriate environment and taking into account the protection of their dignity and the human conditions," Ali Jihangir, the spokesperson for Iraq’s Ministry of Displacement and Migration, told Rudaw.