By Pishtiwan Jamal
SULAIMANI, Kurdistan Region— Iraq’s ministry of migration says it is preparing to receive between half a million to 800,000 new refugees from Nineveh province after the long-anticipated offensive against ISIS kicks off.
The migration minister Darbaz Muhammad told Rudaw the new displaced families will be accommodated in the Kurdistan region and central parts of Iraq with direct coordination with the UN and local authorities.
“We have already set up rescue teams that are responsible to receive and help the new wave of refugees with food, housing and other basics,” Muhammad said.
The US defense officials said Monday their troops will be much more involved in the process to retake Mosul “because of the scope of the operation,” US joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Josef Dunford told reporters at the Pentagon.
Dunford could not, however, give a timetable on when the operation would take place and said, “Honestly, I don’t know,”
US officials including President Barak Obama have increasingly indicated they want Mosul offensive to start sooner than later.
“I would like to get this wrapped up as fast as I possibly can,” said US commander in Iraq Gen. Sean MacFarland earlier in February as Washington announced it was willing to deploy apache attack helicopters to help Iraqi forces retake the city.
A complete downfall of ISIS in Iraq which largely depends on Mosul offensive, before November elections in the US could effectively strengthen the Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton who has the implicit backing of President Obama in her race.
With over a million people still living in Mosul, the operation could immediately endanger thousands of civilians and could also ruin the city, which has so far been spared much of the destruction seen in other areas like Shingal and Kobani where whole neighborhoods were leveled to the ground.
The Iraqi government still pays the salaries of civil servants in Mosul in an effort to reduce ISIS influence in Nineveh province which has been regarded as a bastion for Sunni insurgency even before ISIS takeover in 2014.
Minister Muhammad said the new refugees will not be placed in camps inside the cities like previous migrants, as security agencies fear ISIS recruits would infiltrate the city centers.
“Most of them will be accommodated in neighboring areas where Peshmarga or Iraqi forces are in charge, and some will be placed in camps in southern Iraq,” Muhammad said.
Both Iraq and Kurdish governments have asked the international community for financial help to cope with the new refugees.
Many countries have shown willingness to send economic packages to Iraq and Kurdistan region including Japan which is planned to allocate $105 million for the refugees in Iraq, according to migration office in Kurdistan region.
