Iraq — Displacement Report 17 (March 2015)

Consistent with previous reports, this round identified an additional displaced population of 49,176 individuals. They are predominantly housed in rented accommodation and with host community households, while there has been a notable decrease of those in critical shelter arrangements as families have begun to return to areas in Salah al Din and Kirkuk. Within Salah al Din the displaced population’s movement has been complex due to the ongoing military operations around and south of Tikrit. Since 12 March, high numbers of previously displaced populations have fled south to liberated areas in and around Samarra (approx. 4500 individuals). While new and secondary displaced populations have fled to other areas including Shirqat district, and also the surrounding governorates of Kirkuk, Ninewa and Baghdad. There has been a significant increase in the displaced populations in Baghdad governorate following recent clashes in Anbar and Salah al Din. The displaced populations have primarily sought refuge in Abu Ghraib and Adhamia district on the outskirts of the city. Through the reporting period large cases of return have been observed, primarily in Salah al Din and Diyala. As forces liberated some areas west of Salah al Din governorate from al Tooz district towards Tikrit, early estimates state that 4300 families have returned to areas west of the Tigris in Al Alam sub district of Tikrit. Within Diyala approximately 1770 families had returned to Al Mansouriya, primarily from Qara Tapa, Khanaqin and Kalar. Further to this, early reports indicate 1500 families had returned to Al Muqdadiya in Diyala governorate. From the start of January 2014 through 26 March 2015, the DTM identified 2,683,668 internally displaced individuals (447,278 families), dispersed across 3,038 distinct locations in Iraq. Considering available information and the DTM methodology, the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) has revised the estimated planning figures for the humanitarian response to 2.7 million internally displaced persons (IDPs).