Tent fire at IDP camp in Kirkuk kills four children

Last Update: 2019-02-05 00:00:00 - Source: kurdistan 24

Camps across Iraq and the Kurdistan Region have witnessed similar fires over the past few years, resulting in multiple deaths, particularly among children.

Kirkuk continues to host hundreds of thousands of IDPs from several regions and provinces. Many of them were housed in camps scattered on the outskirts of the city.

Most of the inhabitants of the Nazrawa camp are displaced people from the town of Hawija. Located just under 55 kilometers (34 miles) west of Kirkuk city, Iraq retook the majority-Arab town from the Islamic State during an offensive in late 2017.

Iraq declared victory against the jihadist group in Dec. 2017, but its fighters continue to carry out insurgent attacks, ambushes, and kidnappings in several areas across the country.

Now, around two million people remain displaced within Iraq’s borders, who refuse or are unable to return to their areas due to insecurity and a lack of basic services and infrastructure, damaged by the war against the Islamic State.

Editing by Nadia Riva