BAGHDAD, Iraq, May 4 (NNN-NINA) – The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), said that, more than 1.6 million Iraqis remain displaced, despite the military defeat of the Daesh militants, since late 2017.
The remarks came in a statement by UNAMI, after the visit of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for UNAMI, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, to the Iraqi provinces of Nineveh and Dohuk, to assess the situation of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).
Hennis-Plasschaert visited Hassan Sham IDPs Camp and met with the camp’s management and residents, who “explained the problems they face in their daily lives, as well as, the obstacles that prevent them from returning to their hometowns,” the statement said.
She also met with Governor of Dohuk, Farhad Atrushi, to discuss the challenges that the provincial government is facing to continuously host large numbers of IDPs, many of whom are Yazidis, who fled their homes in Sinjar area, some 100 km west of Mosul, according to the statement.
It said that Yazidis are facing “a range of serious obstacles to their return, such as an unstable security situation, including clashes between armed groups and checkpoint harassment, damaged and contaminated houses, inadequate basic services, as well as discrimination.”
“The Yazidis have suffered immensely during the reign of the Daesh, who committed untold atrocities in their attempt to annihilate the community,” she said.
To avoid the return of violence and instability, she called on the Iraqi federal government and the government of the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan to “consult with the local leadership in Sinjar and to establish stable governance and security structures without delay,” it added.– NNN-NINA
