Fears of Arab refugees changing Kirkuk’s population balance

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Tens of thousands of predominantly Arab refugees, escaping violence in other parts of Iraq, have been given shelter in Kirkuk since this summer, impacting the city’s population balance, officials say.

“The inflow of refugees could very well impact the demographic state of the city if they decide to stay in Kirkuk,” said Sherzad Dalo who is in charge of a Kurdish office of migration in Kirkuk.

The internally displaced people (IDP) fled to Kirkuk mainly from Iraq’s Salahadin, Anbar and Nineveh provinces after the Islamic State (ISIS) militants captured much of the country’s Sunni heartland in the summer.

Kirkuk is regarded by the Kurds as part of Kurdistan, but the city is also claimed by the Arabs. Its demography was affected by Saddam Hussein’s Arabization policy, and the Kurds say its future is to be decided by a referendum. 

Officials say the influx of refugees has raised the prices of goods and housing in the city, in addition to lowering the quality of basic public services such as electricity, drinking water and healthcare.

“Before the attacks there were only around 9,000 Iraqi displaced families here, but now the number has increased more than seven-fold,” said Ammar Sabah, head of the local migration board.

Sabah said that another 9,000 IDP families have been registered since June.

“These families usually come from the neighbouring provinces of Nineveh, Anbar and Salahaddin and are predominantly of Arab origin,” he said.

More than half of the IDP families have received 1 million Iraqi dinars (about $800), allocated by the Iraqi government for basic necessities.