More than 283 thousand refugees reside in Kurdistan region, 85% of them are from northern Syria.
With the outbreak of the civil war in Syria, thousands of “Syrians, predominantly Kurds from northern Syria or so-called Roj ava,” went to “Kurdistan region” especially after the escalation of attacks by Islamist factions in Hasaka, then Kobani and finally the Turkish campaign targeting Afrin city, and pushed out about 350,000 of its residents from the city, which was enjoying stability.
“Since 2018, 4380 refugees from Syria has left
Kurdistan region,” according to the latest statistics published by the
Joint Crisis Coordination Centre, and the number of returnees has escalated at
an increasing pace since 2016, especially as the northern regions of the
country have seen stability, job opportunities and state regulation and defeat
ISIS in the vast areas of Manbij, Raqqa, Deir ez-Zor and Hasaka provided a kind
of security stability , which provided a boost for many “displaced”
to decide to return…
Turkish attack on Afrin city and its occupation since March 2018 by
Turkish-backed militia , accompanying with threats by Turkish President Recep
Tayyip Erdogan to invade the eastern Euphrates, the threat of a new campaign
negatively affected the decision of return, and contributed to the rise of the
displacement from Syria to Iraq again… In particular, the “Turkish
state” has closed its border in front of refugees, killing them at the
border… A comprehensive statistic issued by the “Violation Documentation
center” revealed that the “Turkish gendarmerie” killed 419
refugees “and injured about 350, including women and children, when trying
to cross the Turkish-Syrian border to escape the war and in search of”
stability “or desiring to live with their relatives in Turkey…
where many international organizations
accused Turkey that it has opened its borders to “jihadists”,
transporting “weapons” and closing it in front of refugees fleeing
the war.
In a report published before the “Turkish War on
Afrin”, the United Nations refugee Agency (UNHCR) revealed that Kurdish
refugees in the Kurdistan region are returning in large numbers every week to
their homes in Syria.
“Joint Crisis Coordination Center” revealed that “249639”
refugees from Syria are now living in the Kurdistan region. 43 Local
organizations and 103 international humanitarian organizations are active in
assisting displaced people and refugees in nine refugee camps:
Dohuk Governorate: Domiz 1 Camp, Domiz2 Camp , Qala’at Akri Camp, Guilan camp.
Erbil Governorate: Kurkossk Camp, Dar Shakran Camp, Qoshtepe Camp, Baserma Camp
Sulaymaniyah Governorate: Barica Camp
These refugees suffer from a lack of employment opportunities and from residency procedures where graduates of institutes and universities are not allowed to work in international organizations and oil companies, as they require their employees to be Iraqi citizens… Doctors, engineers and pharmacists are not allowed to work or seek to complete or certify their testimony and therefore their employment opportunities are significantly reduced.
According to data from the General Directorate of the Joint Crisis Coordination Centre, in Kurdistan region, along with 249639 refugees from Syria, 20575 refugees from Turkey and 13162 refugees from Iran, 756 Palestinian refugees and more than 60 per cent of all refugees do not reside in camps, but in gatherings Residential, according to the German newspaper “Reinisha Post”, which also revealed that international assistance programs for Syrian refugees in Iraq are experiencing a significant shortfall in funding. “Donors ‘ promises at the end of last year were only 45% of the total amount needed to help these refugees, valued at 229 million dollars.”
The German government has decided to increase the amount of humanitarian aid earmarked for Iraq from 43.4 to 70 million euros, pointing out that Iraq has about 1.9 million Syrian refugees in need of food aid.
In addition to the Syrian refugees, the Kurdistan region receives thousands of displaced Iraqis fleeing sectarian strife from various parts of Iraq.
The United Nations Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) says: “The war of 2014-2017 against ISIS has had an impact on the Kurdistan region”, noting that “since the beginning of the crisis, the Kurdistan region has provided refuge to more than 1 million Iraqi IDPs and continues to host more than 800,000 displaced people.”
