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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Nearly 600 internally displaced families from Iraq’s federal areas are set to return from camps in the Kurdistan Region to their areas of origin in the coming days, in the first organized return convoy of 2026, Iraq’s migration ministry said on Tuesday.
Ali Jahangir, spokesperson for Iraq’s Ministry of Migration and Displacement, told Rudaw that around 600 displaced families currently residing in camps in Duhok province will return to their former homes.
The families will each receive 1.5 million Iraqi dinars (around $1,000) to cover return expenses. The funding is being provided by an international organization.
The returns come as thousands of displaced Iraqis who previously left the camps are still awaiting government financial assistance.
According to a decision by the migration ministry, each returning family is entitled to four million Iraqi dinars in financial support. However, Jahangir said the assistance has not been paid for the past six months due to delays in approving Iraq’s budget law.
He added that of the 13,000 displaced families who have already returned to their home areas, around 8,000 have received the assistance, while the remainder are still waiting.
Around 18,000 displaced families remain in camps across the Kurdistan Region. The majority of them are Yazidis from Shingal (Sinjar) district of Nineveh province. They are housed in 22 camps, including 18 in Duhok province.
The annual budget of Iraq’s migration and displaced ministry stands at 276.9 billion Iraqi dinars, with 15.9 billion dinars allocated to employee salaries.
Hundreds of thousands of Yazidis and other Iraqis were displaced after the Islamic State swept across large parts of Iraq in 2014, including Shingal. While many families have returned in recent years, thousands remain in camps across the Kurdistan Region due to security concerns, damaged infrastructure, and a lack of services in their home areas.
Hastyar Qadir contributed to this article.