03/04/2008
Al-Arab Online, London
According to a new report on internally displaced people (IDP) in Iraq, it is estimated that over 2.77 million people are currently displaced inside the country. Of these, 1.2 million were displaced before 2006 whilst more than 1.5 million were displaced in 2006 and 2007. Of those persons forced to flee since 2006, 85 percent (1,275,000 people) are from Iraq's central and southern provinces.
According to the current estimation, the number of IDPs in need of adequate shelter and food is now higher than 1 million. In addition, over 1 million cannot access regular income. Around 300,000 individuals have no access to clean water and are in need of legal aid to enable them to access other basic services.
The joint report notes that new displacement is continuing at a much lower pace than in the previous two years, which is partly due to the presence of more homogenous communities, districts and neighbourhoods; consequent media information campaigns; a decrease in security incidents; restriction of freedom of movement in many Iraqi governorates; and exhaustion of resources for many families.
New secondary displacement has been reported in Baghdad, however. Many of the Iraqis who decided to return to Iraq the end of last year - often after having run out of resources - found themselves displaced again in Baghdad as property had been destroyed, looted or occupied. A total of 40 percent of surveyed IDPs in Baghdad fled due to direct threats and forced eviction from their property, while between 10-17 percent fled due to generalized violence and fear.
Most of the post-2006 IDPs come from Baghdad and Diyala. Less than 1 percent have been displaced in 2008. The new report uses data gathered by the Iraqi Ministry of Displacement and Migration (MoDM), the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), UNHCR, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), other UN agencies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
The difference between the current and last IDP count on 31 December 2007 - an increase of around 300,000 individuals - is largely due to the improved entry of IDP data in the central Ministry of Displacement and Migration database.
The majority of pre-2006 IDPs was displaced in the three northern governorates (53 percent) and in the south (33 percent). But 58 percent of post-2006 IDPs are displaced in the six central governorates, 27 percent in the south and 15 percent in the three northern governorates. More than 560,000 IDPs are presently living in Baghdad Governorate.
The report says that, at present, large-scale return movements have not been noted and that the exact number of internally displaced and refugee returnees remain uncertain. According to the latest figures released by the MoDM, nearly 6,000 IDP families have returned so far (2 percent of post-2006 IDPs), while approximately 45,000 Iraqi refugees (individuals) returned from Syria in 2007. Among the reasons of return are deteriorating conditions in places of displacement; lack of proper resources or having run out of savings; tribal reconciliation and reports of improved security in areas of origin.
Returnees mostly go to neighbourhoods/districts/governorates where their communities represent the majority and which often are not their original homes. To date, only a few families returned to areas under control of other communities. No members of minority groups (e.g., Christians, Sabaean-Mandaeans and Yazidis) have been reported to be among the returnees.
