Iraq News

Internally Displaced Persons in Iraq on the rise

According to the International Organization for Migration, the number of people in Iraq fleeing their homes to avoid the sectarian violence has reached 9,000/week. The overall population of IDPs has reached 190,000 Iraqis. The largest problem with this flow is that these migrations are beginning to look like they are permanent migrations to safer areas Iraq, and a shortage in jobs in these areas is rampant. Shi’a and Sunnis are remaining divided during this migration, with Iraqi Shi’a migrating to the south and Sunni to the central region of the country. This is threatening to cause a severe humanitarian crisis if adequate food, shelter, and water are not provided to the IDPs.

Palestinians in Iraq in Danger, UNHCR Says

The Palestinians who have sought refuge in Iraq are facing many dangers according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The Palestinians have seemingly become targets because of allegations of ties to the Hussein regime, and so the numbers of Palestinians in Iraq has dropped to 20,000 from 34,000 in 2003. According to the report, "Palestinians in Iraq lack protection, have serious problems obtaining identity cards, and have been the target of continuing harassment, threats, kidnapping, and killings. In late September, armed men in Baghdad hand-delivered written death threats to several Palestinians." For those who attempted to flee, some have gotten stuck in the border region between Iraq, Syria, and Jordan. In fact 330 have found themselves stranded for four months at a border crossing into Syria. Even those who did manage to leave are facing difficult situations in the countries where they ended up, whether Syria or Jordan, and the UNCHR remains worried about the conditions of these refugees.

Both of these articles were reported in RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 10, No. 183, Part III, 4 October 2006.