130 displaced families return to Sinjar from Esyan Camp

DUHOK — Nearly 130 displaced families, comprising 732 individuals from Esyan Camp in Baadre, a town in the Shekhan District under Kurdish control, have returned to Sinjar, according to Iraq’s Minister of Migration and Displacement, Ivan Faiq Jabro. She emphasized that “the return was conducted in collaboration with the KRG and supporting agencies.”

Minister Jabro noted that the ministry is still registering displaced families wishing to return home and that returning families will receive financial grants, relief assistance, and goods to support stability in Sinjar.

The Iraqi Council of Ministers had previously ordered the closure of all internally displaced person (IDP) camps in the Kurdistan Region by the end of July, but implementation was delayed. On August 6, 2024, the Ministry of Migration extended the closure deadline to the end of the year to reach an agreement with the KRG and facilitate IDP returns.

One returnee, Serdar Golo, told 964media, “After weeks of preparation, many families completed their return arrangements. Last night, we got ready to leave, and this morning, we began our journey back to Sinjar.”

Pirdayan Jafar, Director of Displacement and Migration in Duhok, confirmed that the 130 families had completed all necessary procedures and received a grant of four million dinars to support their return.

In response to the crisis, the Ministry of Migration increased financial grants from 1.5 million to four million dinars. The ministry also provided household supplies and benefits like social welfare salaries to encourage returns and facilitate camp closures.

Jafar noted that the return process was temporarily suspended over a month ago due to families receiving aid but choosing to remain in camps. The suspension only applies to families still in camps.

According to data from the Directorate of Displacement and Migration in Duhok, nearly 10,000 families have registered to return to Sinjar, with over 2,000 already back, while about 22,350 families remain in camps under KRG control.

The Ministry of Migration has accused the KRG of preventing IDP returns, while the KRG maintains it supports voluntary, not forced, returns. On July 8, 2024, Interior Minister Rebar Ahmed criticized the closure decision, arguing it was made without consulting the KRG, the UN, or refugees. “The decision was made without ensuring return conditions and people’s safety,” Ahmed said at a press conference.

In response, the KRG sent a letter to Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani supporting voluntary returns and called for a joint committee with the UN to reassess the closure plan. Ahmed confirmed the committee would begin its work soon.

On July 11, the Arbat camp, the last for displaced persons in Sulaymaniyah, closed after 290 families returned to homes in Salah Al-Din and Sinjar. However, about 22,000 IDPs continue to live outside camps in Sulaymaniyah. During a visit, Minister Jabro told 964media that the federal government “would assist those who wish to return.”

Sinjar, a district in northwestern Iraq with a mixed population of Kurds, Arabs, and Yazidis, saw massive destruction during the conflict with ISIL from 2014 to 2017. The International Organization for Migration estimates about 183,000 people from Sinjar remain displaced, including 85 percent of the district’s Yazidis. Some 65 percent of Sinjar’s towns and villages host half or less of their original populations, with 13 villages seeing no returns since 2014.