Kirkuk governor says 70 pct of displaced people repatriated so far
Displaced children who fled the clashes queue to receive aid from Iraqi security forces in Antesaar neighborhood of Mosul, Iraq, January 24, 2017. REUTERS/Alaa Al-Marjani
Kirkuk (IraqiNews.com) – Acting Kirkuk governor Rakan al-Jabouri has urged humanitarian organizations to help the repatriated people in the governorate to re-establish their homes demolished in the country’s fight against Islamic State.
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, al-Jabouri was quoted by Baghdad Today news website as saying that 70 percent of the displaced people in Kirkuk have been repatriated so far, but their homes unfortunately had been demolished during the anti-IS war.
The governor, therefore, urged the humanitarian organizations to contribute to renovating the demolished homes as soon as possible to provide a shelter for the repatriated families.
Speaking further about widespread destruction in the governorate, al-Jabouri pointed out that 11 villages had been destroyed in Kirkuk from 2014 to 2017.
Violence in the country has surged further with the emergence of Islamic State extremist militants who proclaimed an “Islamic Caliphate” in Iraq and Syria in 2014.
The surge in violence between armed groups and government forces has resulted in over five million internally displaced persons across Iraq and left more than 11 million in need of humanitarian assistance, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.