KIRKUK, Iraq — About 500 refugee families from Syria who have been living for years in tents in Kirkuk city are now facing the threat of eviction after locals complained.
Wisam Amjad, a refugee from northeast Syria (Rojava), said he was given two weeks to move. "They tell us that we should remove our tents and leave, but we have refused to do so as we are entering the month of Ramadan. Where are we supposed to go?” he asked.
Most of the refugees have temporary residency permits, but can’t afford to rent a house. Amjad said he has no job and depends on the charity of others to get by.
"People have complained because they have set up tents in residential areas and on land for projects. Everyone has filed complaints against them," said Salah Ali, a Kirkuk municipal official tasked with removing the tents.
"It is the responsibility of the police and Asayish [security forces] to follow up. Additionally, places where their tents are located are given to investors to build investment projects. But the contractors and investors come back to us saying there are [tents] and they cannot work like this," he added.
More than 240,000 Syrian refugees are living in the Kurdistan Region, according to government figures. Most of them are living outside of camps. Another 5,000 Syrian families are living in Iraq, including Kirkuk, according to data from Iraq’s migration ministry.
In 10 years of conflict in Syria, 6.6 million people have fled the country, most of them sheltering in neighbouring countries.
Baghdad has closed most of the camps in the country sheltering Iraqi families displaced during the war with the Islamic State (ISIS). Over 668,000 are still living within the Kurdistan Region.
Translation by Zhelwan Zeyad Wali
