213 families left western Anbar since start of liberation battles

Anbar (IraqiNews.com) Iraq’s Ministry of Migration and Displacement said Tuesday that 213 families have left western Anbar regions since security and tribal forces commenced an onslaught last week to recapture the area from Islamic State militants.

The families left the western towns of Annah, rawa and Qaem which are still hld by Islamic State militants, according to Mohamed Rashid, head of the ministry’s department in the province. They were distributed among refugee camps in Anbar and were handed out aid supplies.

Islamic State militants have been holding locations west of Anbar, close the borders with Syria, since the group emerged to the scene in Iraq in 2014 to proclaim the establishment of a self-styled “Islamic Caliphate” across many regions of the country. Since then, it had launched occasional attacks on civilians and security in Anbar from those strongholds, with security forces, backed by fighter jets from a US-led military coalition, responding with recurrent airstrikes.

On Monday, Anadolu Agency quoted Mohamed Yassin, a member of Anbar Province’s council, as saying that refugee camps in Anbar host 22.000 families. The number of refugee families returned to their homes in the province has reached more than 121.000, he said.

The United Nations says there are more than 3 million people displaced inside Iraq.