The number of displaced (IDPs) going back to their home areas hit a new low in Iraq during the start of 2021. When the war against the Islamic State ended there was widespread hope that IDPs would immediately return and the crisis would largely be over. That’s not happened. Instead the country is experiencing something similar to what happened after the civil war with over one million likely to be permanently displaced.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is the paramount group working with Iraq’s internal refugees. It recorded 1,205,767 people still displaced and 4,851,816 that had gone home as of February 2021.
Since 2019 the rate of return has steadily declined. The second half of 2020 was different because the Kazemi government was closing down IDP camps and forcing people out. As a result from July-August 2020 there were 25,920 returns going up to 38,364 from September-October and 49,152 from November-December. Most of the remaining camps are in the Kurdistan Regional Government and have not followed Baghdad’s orders. That meant from January-February 2021 only 20,250 IDPs went back for an average of just 10,125 per month down from 19,593 in 2020, 35,927 in 2019 and 78,746 per month in 2018. The IOM noted this was one of the lowest rates of return since 2015.
As usual the postwar provinces saw the majority of returns. Those were Ninewa with 15,204, Kirkuk with 1,788, Salahaddin with 1,254 and Anbar with 780.
The main reasons why people are not going back have also stayed the same. Those are the lack of services, jobs plus poor security in Baghdad and Diyala.
In addition there is still small scale displacement going on in Iraq. 1,062 people left their homes for the first time during January and February. Another 13,547 were displaced for a second time after they went home and left for mostly the same reasons why people are not going back.
Total Number of Displaced Returns 2018-2021
2018 944,958
2019 431,130
2020 235,116
2021 Jan-Feb 20,250
Avg 78,746 returns per month 2018
Avg 35,927 returns per month 2019
Avg 19,593 returns per month 2020
Avg 10,125 returns per month 2021
Main Provinces With Returns
|
Province |
December 2020 |
|
Ninewa |
1,904,358 |
|
Anbar |
1,505,412 |
|
Salahaddin |
709,998 |
|
Kirkuk |
348,138 |
|
Diyala |
236,796 |
|
Baghdad |
91,404 |
|
Irbil |
54,942 |
|
Dohuk |
768 |
Location of Displaced By Province
|
Province |
Feb 2021 |
|
Ninewa |
260,218 |
|
Dohuk |
258,633 |
|
Irbil |
231,694 |
|
Sulaymaniya |
134,496 |
|
Kirkuk |
90,738 |
|
Salahaddin |
61,674 |
|
Diyala |
45,217 |
|
Anbar |
33,768 |
|
Baghdad |
25,595 |
|
Babil |
17,262 |
|
Karbala |
12,804 |
|
Najaf |
10,818 |
|
Basra |
5,928 |
|
Wasit |
4,968 |
|
Qadisiya |
3,714 |
|
Dhi Qar |
3,270 |
|
Maysan |
2,040 |
|
Muthanna |
930 |
SOURCES
International Organization for Migration, “Iraq Master List Report 120,” April 2021
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