Irakiske flygtninge er begyndt at vende tilbage til Irak på grund af uroen i Syrien og Libyen. De irakiske myndigheder gør klar til en eventuel massevandring. Flere hundrede tusinde irakere er de senere år flygtet fra krig og vold i Irak – især til Syrien, som nu oplever voldelige tilstande.
– There has been no major threat against Iraqi families until now, but we are closely monitoring the developments and are ready for any emergencies, said Iraq Migration and Displacement Minister Dendar Najman Al-Dosky to IRIN.
BEREDSKAB PÅ PLADS
– We have established an emergency committee with the concerned ministries, UNHCR [the UN Refugee Agency], the Iraqi Red Crescent and other international organizations and set up a centre to register the returning refugees, offer the needed services and help them reach their destinations inside Iraq, he told IRIN.
– Another committee will visit Al-Waleed border crossing on the Syria-Iraq border to investigate the setting up of a makeshift camp in the event of a huge influx from Syria, and how to immediately shelter and offer services to refugees before they are sent to their areas, the minister added.
STORT POTENTIALE
Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, according to the minister, fled violence in their home country after 2003 and have since lived in Syria. Others fled the country during the violence of the 1990s.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates that over two million Iraqis live in neighbouring states, mainly Syria and Jordan.
Another 1.9 million have been displaced internally by continuing insecurity, sectarian violence, criminality and military operations.
