USAID: 3 mn Iraqis repatriated, 2 mn remain displaced
Refugees at al-Jadaa camp in Mosul.
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) Nearly three million Iraqis have been repatriated to their home regions, a U.S. agency said as Iraq struggles to recover from war against Islamic State.
USAID’s deputy director in Iraq, William Patterson, was quoted by Alghad Press saying that nearly three million Iraqis returned to their regions, while two million others await.
He stressed that the agency favors a voluntary, rather than forcible, repatriation of those affected.
Iraq declared victory over Islamic State militants in December, ending a three-tear, U.S.-backed campaign against the militants who took over large areas of the country to proclaim a self-styled :caliphate”.
Thousands were killed and wounded in the war. Militants were regularly reported to be executing civilians for attempting to flee their strongholds or contacting security troops. Iraqi forces and relief teams continue to discover mass graves of victims slain by the militants.