3.3 million displaced Iraqis returned to areas of origin by January: IOM

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) says around 3.3 million Iraqi Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) had returned to their areas of origin by the end of January, some two months after the Iraqi government declared the end of military operations against the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group following the total defeat of the outfit in the Arab country.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) says around 3.3 million Iraqi Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) had returned to their areas of origin by the end of January, some two months after the Iraqi government declared the end of military operations against the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group following the total defeat of the outfit in the Arab country.

In its monthly report on displacement until January 31, 2018, which was published on Friday, the IOM also confirmed that some 2.5 million people continued to live in displacement – a quarter of them in camps – or areas far from their original homes.

“The return movements continue. In January, another 125,000 returnees were identified in the four provinces of Nineveh, Salahuddin, Kirkuk and Anbar,” the intergovernmental organization further said.

On December 9, 2017, Iraq’s Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared the end of military operations against Daesh.