ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Thousands of displaced Iraqis who returned to their homes after the liberation of Mosul and defeat of the self-proclaimed Islamic State are gradually returning to displacement camps in the Kurdistan Region.
Despite the military defeat of the terror group, the people of Nineveh governorate and Mosul, in particular, continue to face difficulties in returning to their homes and beginning a new life.
Security risks to their lives, a lack of primary services and utilities, and little to no employment are some of the leading causes that force the people to seek the safety of displacement camps in Kurdistan.
Rashid Darwish, a member of one of the displacement camps in the autonomous Kurdish region, estimates that daily, at least 40 families return from Nineveh governorate and the city of Mosul, specifically. According to Darwish, over 550 families have returned to camps since the beginning of 2019.
Mansor Murad, a member of the Nineveh Provincial Council, believes the problems vary that prevent displaced people from trusting the new Iraqi government and leaving their liberated homes again. He narrowed it down to two major reasons: financial instability and a lack of security.
“In order to encourage people to return to their homes, there will need to be a combined effort from the Iraqi Security Forces, governmental administrations, and the capital to support the process,” Murad told Kurdistan 24.
Mosul, the second largest city in Iraq, was quick to fall into the hands of the Islamic State. Some believe economic deterioration, mistreatment from the Iraqi army, and neglect from the central government were all possible reasons why the city fell so easily to the terror group.
As the displaced people from Nineveh face an uncertain future, they continue to choose life in the camps of the autonomous Kurdistan Region rather than putting their lives at risk if they decide to return home.
Editing by Karzan Sulaivany
(Additional reporting by Blessa Shawis)