As sectarian violence continues, so does displacement

Nearly 180,000 Iraqis have now been displaced due to ongoing sectarian violence, an increase of about 80,000 from previous figures, said government officials. According to Mowafaq Abdul-Raof, a spokesman for the Ministry of Displacement and Migration, more than 17,000 families are now registered as homeless by the ministry. An additional 5,000, Abdul-Raof added, had found refuge with relatives in less effected areas. The largest number of displaced families is from Baghdad, at about 3,718. Of these, an estimated 1,500 have relocated to Samawa; 1,091 to al-Amara; 966 to al-Qut; 713 to Basra; 765 to Nassiriya; and 300 to Ramadi. According to ministry figures, a further 2,113 families have relocated from Falluja and Samarra to Kerbala. Baqouba, a mixed city some 60km northeast of Baghdad, has received the largest influx of displaced families from various locations, at 12,528. Tikrit has also received 117 displaced families, Kirkuk 190 and Mosul 44. Sectarian hostility erupted in earnest following a 22 February attack on a revered Shi'ite shrine in Samarra, some 120km north of Baghdad. The attack triggered a spate of sectarian reprisals between the country's major Muslim sects – Sunnis and Shi'ites –and has resulted in the deaths of hundreds of civilians. “The numbers of displaced will continue to rise if tough measures aren’t taken by the government against the militants, whether Sunni or Shi'ite,” said Abdul-Raof. Mahmod Thiab, a 44-year-old Shi'ite farmer, was forced to leave his 20-acre orchard in the Sunni-dominated city of Samarra and flee to the southern city of Qadissiyah, some 160km south of Baghdad, after militants killed his 15-year old son. “Now we’re living in a tent,” said Thiab, a father of nine. “We need the government to find a solution.” Death threats also forced Sheikh Awad Hamoud al-Naser, a 52-year-old Sunni Muslim, to flee his hometown of Basra, some 600km south of Baghdad, to a camp run by the Iraq Red Crescent Society (IRCS) in the Zaobaa district of the capital. “A Shi'ite militia affiliated with the government forced us to flee our homes and jobs,” said al-Naser. In the meantime, the IRCS has appealed to the government to provide essential materials, especially potable water. “There are a lot of children and elderly in this camp,” said Abdul-Adhim Mohamed, an IRCS official in charge of the Zaobaa camp. “Their situation is deteriorating because of the shortage of potable water.” The government has promised to supply the roughly 500 litres of water that are needed daily by the end of the week. SM/AR/AM