“I used to live in a small house in Khurmatu. They destroyed it and burned it. We are now left at the mercy of people’s donations. How much longer shall we live like this? This has happened to us many times before. Who shall we ask for help? May God help us,” lamented an elderly woman, saying four sons and two daughters were killed by Saddam Hussein in the notorious Anfal campaign in the late 1980s.
Several families said they left everything behind and added that the Shiite militiamen set fire to some Kurdish households.
“They blew up my house last night. They have blown up the houses of those who are volunteers [civilians who took up arms] with me,” said another fleeing civilian from Khurmatu.
Most displaced families have turned to Nawjul, whose administration is trying their best to collect assistance from them.
Regarding events in Kirkuk and Khurmatu where advancing Iraqi forces briefly clashed with the Peshmerga and later controlled them, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi claimed that, “Not even a single incident... except in Tuz [Khurmatu],” happened and it “did not lead to confrontations.”
Kurdish provinces in northern Iraq face new humanitarian challenges as thousands of people are displaced from Kirkuk, following the central government's control of the diverse region on Monday.
The United Nations reported some 61,000 civilians fled Kirkuk to Erbil and Sulaimani fearing the Iraqi forces’ advances on the city.
“In the past 48 hours, the UN Migration Agency says that some 61,000 people have left Kirkuk and surrounding areas, most of them heading north and east toward the Erbil and Sulaimani governorates,” Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for the Secretary-General, told reporters on Tuesday.
