HIGHLIGHTS
USAID Administrator Mark Green travels to Iraq to observe USG assistance, meet with minority communities
IOM records more than 3.9 million IDP returns as of July
One year after GoI retakes Mosul, explosive hazards, insufficient services remain key challenges
KEY DEVELOPMENTS
In early July, USAID Administrator Mark Green traveled to Iraq with a U.S. Government (USG) delegation to visit ethnic and religious communities in northern Iraq. During the visit, the delegation met with Yazidi families displaced from Ninewa Governorate’s Sinjar District at Dahuk Governorate’s Khanke internally displaced person (IDP) camp, political and religious leaders, and faith-based and local non-governmental organization (NGO) representatives to discuss ways that the USG can help facilitate minority communities’ safe return to areas of origin.
As of July 15, nearly 2 million people remained displaced across Iraq, while more than 3.9 million people countrywide had returned to areas of origin and other sites, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM). Insecurity, damaged or destroyed homes, and a lack of livelihoods opportunities in areas of origin remain primary obstacles to IDP returns. Meanwhile, the humanitarian community continues to engage with the Government of Iraq (GoI) and governorate returns committees (GRCs) to coordinate plans for camp closures and consolidations and advocate for safe, voluntary, and dignified IDP returns.
Explosive hazard contamination remains a critical threat to returnee populations, particularly in Ninewa’s city of Mosul. Between July 10, 2017—when the GoI regained control of the city of Mosul from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS)—and the beginning of May 2018, an international NGO recorded nearly 130 explosive hazards incidents, more than 80 of which caused nearly 190 civilian casualties.