ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – At least 50 displaced families from Tikrit now living in Kirkuk are ready to return to their homes because the necessary steps for their repatriation have been completed, an Iraqi official said on Monday.
Rashid Bayati, a member of the Salahaddin provincial council, told Rudaw that Iraqi officials have prepared facilities to help Tikrit residents in Samara and Kirkuk who want to return to their homes.
“Transportation facilities are set ready to pick up 200 displaced families in Samara and 50 others in Kirkuk and help them come back to the city of Tikrit,” in Salahaddin, Bayati said.
He added that the security situation around Tikrit is reported to be stable, especially in areas such as Alam and Fatha. The town of Baiji and its oil refineries are reportedly “more or less stable,” Bayati said.
The liberation of Tikrit by Iraqi forces in mid-April came at a heavy price, both in loss of life and in the complete devastation the militants left after their defeat.
