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The rapid closure of displacement camps in Iraq could leave more than 100,000 people without shelter amid the coronavirus pandemic and as winter approaches, an aid group has warned.
People in camps in seven provinces were expelled without warning, the Norwegian Refugee Council said.
The government expects them to return to their areas of origin.
But many of them were destroyed during the war against the Islamic State (IS) group and have yet to be rebuilt.
More than six million Iraqis fled their homes during the conflict, which officially ended in December 2017.
An estimated 1.3 million people remain displaced, while more than half of the 4.7 million returnees have returned to areas where living conditions are “severe,” according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM). .
Iraqi camp closures ‘could leave 100,000 displaced people homeless’ https://t.co/FNuAx9neO5
– APAC News (@NewsApac) November 9, 2020
The Iraqi government began forcibly closing camps in August 2019.
Although departures slowed considerably this year, due in part to the Covid-19 pandemic, he remains committed to closing all camps.
On Monday, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) expressed extreme concern about the fate of thousands of families living in camps in Baghdad, Karbala, Diyala, Sulaymaniyah, Anbar, Kirkuk and Nineveh, who were suddenly forced to leave.
Many came from neighborhoods that were still totally destroyed and risked being blocked at checkpoints, or even arrested, due to lack of security clearance and perceived affiliation with armed groups such as the Islamic State, he said.
“Closing camps before residents are willing or able to return home recently to end the displacement crisis. Rather, it keeps scores of displaced Iraqis trapped in this vicious cycle of displacement, leaving them more vulnerable than ever, especially in the midst of a raging pandemic, ”warned NRC Secretary General Jan Egeland.
So far, more than 600 households have left the Hammam al-Alil camp, run by the NRC, which is one of the largest that will close next week.
Ahlam, a 49-year-old woman from Mosul city living in the camp, said: “This is my home. Why would you force me out of my house? We will be left without a home. It looks like a funeral to me. “
Almost half of those forced to leave the camps in Baghdad and Karbala in recent weeks have not been able to return to their areas of origin, according to the IOM.
Many end up in precarious settings on the outskirts of cities and towns, in damaged and unsafe apartments or in unfinished buildings, without basic needs and medical care.
The NRC asked the Iraqi government to inform the families about the closure of the camps at least one month in advance so that they could make the necessary arrangements and ensure coordination with their areas of origin so that they were not turned away at the checkpoints .
“Anything other than these measures will expose tens of thousands of displaced Iraqis to continued deprivation, rejection and violence,” Egeland said.
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