Iraq News Now

Iraq’s Ministry of Displacement and Migration announced on

Wednesday the return of 154 refugees from Turkey as part of the voluntary

program to bring home citizens from abroad.

Their return comes in coordination with the ministry’s office

in Turkey, the Iraqi Embassy in Ankara, and the Ministry of Transport which

provides buses to the refugees to cross the border through the Kurdistan

Region’s Ibrahim Khalil International Border Crossing.

The statement also noted that in the past three months, the

government has helped to bring home 1,229 Iraqi refugees from its northern

neighbor.

The voluntary return program has been ongoing for over a

year, encouraging Iraqi citizens to return to their liberated areas, previously

occupied by ISIS terrorist group.
Following the emergence of the ISIS and its expansion in

2014, six million Iraqis were internally displaced, with thousands fleeing

abroad to neighboring and western countries.

Since the beginning of this year, the Iraqi federal

government has actively helped IDPs and Iraqi refugees settle back into their

retaken homes. Many, however, continue to resist a return to their towns due to

security concerns and lack of basic services.

Over the past year, the ISIS has carried out insurgency

attacks, kidnappings, and ambushes in the country despite Iraq declaring

victory against the jihadist group in December 2017.