ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The Kurdistan Region of Iraq is hosting the largest number of refugees from the wars in Iraq and Syria – a total 1. 4 million displaced people -- according to a count done with UN help.
A comprehensive count carried out jointly by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the United Nations indicates that some 850,000 war-displaced Iraqis have fled to the three provinces of the autonomous Kurdistan Region since January 2014.
A joint statement by the UN and KRG said these latest waves of internally displaced people (IDP), plus some 216,000 Syrian refugees registered by the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), added to the 335,000 people already in Kurdistan prior to 2014, as a result of large population movements. It said that made the total number 1.4 million.
The Kurdistan Region – whose own local population is some 5 million -- has repeatedly said it cannot alone face the overwhelming numbers of refugees. The regional government has recently allocated an additional $10 million for the aid effort, on top of $15 million already sent to the Duhok province.
According to the Kurdish Ministry of Planning and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) the vast majority of the recently displaced people – 64 per cent - have sought refuge in the Duhok Governorate.
Of the 1.8 million Iraqis displaced nationwide, it is estimated that over 600,000 were displaced this month alone. This increase is due to an upsurge of violence in various parts of the country, particularly Nineveh, Diyala and Anbar.
The latest figures show that the displaced in Kurdistan are scattered over more than 1,000 sites.
These last waves add to the very heavy burden borne by the people and government of Kurdistan, the statement said.
Duhok’s seven districts now host over a half million people seeking shelter, food, water, medicine and protection, since the Islamic State (IS/formerly ISIS) seized territory in Shingal and neighboring communities, forcing a mass exodus, mostly of Kurdish Yezidis.
Since August, 89 per cent of all displaced people in Kurdistan have gone to Duhok province.
Due to the rapid influx of people and their wide dispersal throughout the Kurdistan region, it has been difficult for the regional government and UN agencies to quickly conduct an accurate count of the displaced population, said the statement.
While this first count provides a much needed level of accuracy, the Ministry of Planning will conduct a full survey of the affected governorates in the coming months that will provide greater details on the situation and the needs of the displaced people, it said.
The UN will be closely associated to this operation, providing material and financial support, it pointed out.
The statement said that getting the aid to the people who need it has not been easy.
“Thousands of tons of relief supplies have already been delivered and hundreds of staff deployed. The humanitarian response is difficult due to security concerns and the massive and rapid influx of displaced but our efforts have been greatly aided by the splendid cooperation and leadership of the KRG government and the many residents who have taken in displaced families by the tens of thousands,” said Kevin Kennedy, the United Nations Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq.
The number of refugees from the civil war in neighboring Syria has also risen above three million, according to the UN, which called it “the biggest humanitarian emergency of our era.”
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