164 Thousand of Mosul’s IDPs Settled in Kurdistan Since October 2016

(BasNews) Since the military operations to liberate Mosul began in October of the last year, the number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) who have taken refuge in the Kurdistan Region has risen to 164,000 people who are mainly settled in the camps in Erbil and Duhok provinces.

Hoshang Muhammad, General Director of the Joint Crisis Coordination Centre (JCCC) of the Ministry of Interior told Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) website that approximately 10,000 people are displaced from western Mosul on a daily basis. A significant number of them are sheltered in camps in the Kurdistan Region, he said.

He stated that IDPs from liberated east Mosul also continue to seek refuge in the Kurdistan Region due to the instability and lack of services in the area.

The KRG official explained that “existing IDP camps in Erbil Governorate are filled to capacity and can no longer admit new IDPs unless earlier IDPs return to their liberated areas in and around Mosul”.

Duhok province has only 8,200 tents ready to receive new IDPs, but is unable to admit more IDPs because of severe financial difficulties, he argued.

He added that “the operation has put a tremendous strain on the Kurdistan Region’s service sectors. For instance, more than 35,000 injured people from the military and civilian population have received medical treatment in Erbil and Duhok hospitals.”