ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s migration and displaced ministry on Sunday said the number of IDPs in the Kurdistan Region returning to their places of origin has decreased due to the winter season and their children being in school.
"Now the process of returning IDPs from the camps in the Kurdistan Region to their homes has decreased because their children are in school and the weather is cold. The return process will increase during August to November,” Ali Abbas, spokesperson for Iraq's migration and displaced ministry, told Rudaw.
There are 20 camps left in the Kurdistan Region with 20,000 people in Duhok and 2,000 in Erbil the spokesperson added.
“This year, more than 10,000 displaced families, which is more than 100,000 people, have returned to their homes across Iraq,” Abbas noted.
Many of the camps in the Kurdistan Region suffer from a lack of funds, as the humanitarian focus has shifted from emergency response to development and stabilization.
Human rights advocates have expressed concern about Iraq’s push to close the camps, stressing that all returns must be safe, voluntary, and dignified.
The Iraqi government has increased efforts to close IDP camps across the country and support returnees. Baghdad is offering cash and household appliances to families who return home.
Despite the incentives, many families are reluctant to leave because of continued violence in their homelands, a lack of reconstruction following the destruction of their houses, and little in the way of basic services. Some who voluntarily left the camps have been forced to return, unable to piece together the basics.
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