ReliefWeb

Highlights

From 2 February to 2 March 2017:

• As of 2 March 2017, the DTM has identified 3,062,808 internally displaced persons (i.e. 510,468 families) displaced after January 2014, dispersed across 106 districts and 3,660 locations in Iraq. For the same period, DTM has identified 1,579,362 returnees (i.e. 263,227 families).

• The total number of identified IDPs increased by 1%, i.e. by 32,802 individuals. The governorate that reported the highest increase in IDPs was Ninewa, with a growth of 8% (i.e. 38,598 individuals).

• Overall, the returnee population increased by 6%, i.e. by 83,400 individuals. Particularly, two governorates reported a significant increase of the returnee population, namely Anbar by 9% (i.e. 58,878 individuals) and Ninewa by 11% (i.e. 19,890 individuals).

• Considering the available information and the DTM methodology, the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) has revised the planning figures for the humanitarian response at 3.1 million internally displaced persons.

Situation Overview

During the reporting period, from 2 February to 2 March 2017, displacement along the Mosul corridor continued although at a lower rate. The number of IDPs displaced following the military operations in Salah al-Din actually slightly decreased by 1% due to return movements, while the number of IDPs displaced as a consequence of the hostilities in Hawija district, in Kirkuk governorate, reported an increase of approximately 7%, corresponding to 5,844 individuals over four weeks.

The situation in Ninewa governorate witnessed major developments.
During the reporting period, the cumulative number of IDPs displaced as a consequence of the operations that started on 17 October 2016 grew by 30%, from 196,788 to 255,708 individuals.
Of these, as of 2 March, 75% were still displaced while 25% had returned to their location of origin.

The growth rate of IDPs and returnees as a results of Mosul operations was not constant during the reporting period. On 25 January, the Ministry of Interior of the KRG announced, through a press release, the intention to support and facilitate voluntary returns of IDPs from Mosul sub-district and Mosul city. Following this announcement, returns accelerated, especially during the first half of February, particularly from the camps in Merkaz Hamdaniyya sub-district.

Overall, during the reporting period, the number of returnees grew by 79%, i.e. from 35,610 on 2 February to 63,882 returnee individuals as of 2 March. However, these returns mostly took place in the first half of February, with weekly growth rates of 30% between 2 and 9 February, and 24% between 9 and 16 February.

IDPs showed an opposite trend; although during the first half of the month the increase in IDP numbers was stable, it spiked in the second half of February. On 19 February, authorities announced the beginning of operations to retake West Mosul. From 26 February, camps and emergency sites in Hammam al-Aleel and Qayara subdistricts (Mosul district), such as Haj Ali, Qayyara Airstrip, and the newly opened Qayyarah Jad’ah 4 and Hammam al-Aliel 1 camps began receiving newly displaced IDPs, mainly from West Mosul. In just one week, between 23 February and 2 March, Mosul district recorded an increase of 41%, corresponding to 4,792 IDP families (28,752 individuals), most of who from West Mosul.