2016 in review: Kurdistan Region hosts 300,000 Kurdish refugees
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The autonomous Kurdistan Region is considered a safe haven for Kurds fleeing violence in their countries in the greater Kurdistan region.
More than 300,000 Kurdish refugees from other parts of Kurdistan including northern Syria, southeastern Turkey and western Iran were living in the Kurdistan Region in 2016, though the majority had fled their homes before ISIS established its brutal rule, and conflict rocked both Syria and Turkey.
The number of new refugees taking shelter in the region declined in 2016 and many left for Europe and the US.
According to data given by the Kurdistan Regional Government's (KRG) Ministry of Interior, 308,174 persons were registered as refugees in the region.
As per the data, 266,174 are refugees from Rojava or northern Syria. According to statistics from the Iraqi Migration Ministry, 98 percent of Syrian refugees in Iraq are in the Kurdistan Region.
Twelve thousand of the refugees in the Kurdistan Region are from southeastern Turkey or northern Kurdistan, and 30,000 are from southeastern Kurdistan or northwestern Iran.
Forty-five percent of the refugees live in camps and 55 percent in cities and towns in the Kurdistan Region.
More than 300,000 Kurdish refugees from other parts of Kurdistan including northern Syria, southeastern Turkey and western Iran were living in the Kurdistan Region in 2016, though the majority had fled their homes before ISIS established its brutal rule, and conflict rocked both Syria and Turkey.
The number of new refugees taking shelter in the region declined in 2016 and many left for Europe and the US.
According to data given by the Kurdistan Regional Government's (KRG) Ministry of Interior, 308,174 persons were registered as refugees in the region.
As per the data, 266,174 are refugees from Rojava or northern Syria. According to statistics from the Iraqi Migration Ministry, 98 percent of Syrian refugees in Iraq are in the Kurdistan Region.
Twelve thousand of the refugees in the Kurdistan Region are from southeastern Turkey or northern Kurdistan, and 30,000 are from southeastern Kurdistan or northwestern Iran.
Forty-five percent of the refugees live in camps and 55 percent in cities and towns in the Kurdistan Region.