Iraq – Emergency Tracking - Displacement and Returns to Sinjar and Al-Ba’aj Districts (17 - 29 October 2020)

Between 17 and 29 October 2020, DTM tracked 2,803 individuals (546 families) returning to Sinjar and Al-Ba’aj districts in Iraq’s Ninewa Governorate. This brings the total number of individuals who have taken this route to 34,164 (6,405 families) since data collection commenced on 8 June 2020.

In this reporting period, the average number of daily individual arrivals was 192 to Sinjar and 23 to Al-Ba’aj. In this period, the daily number of arrivals to Sinjar is lower than the overall daily average since 8 June (219), while the daily average number of arrivals to Al-Ba’aj is consistent with overall average since 8 June (22).

Of those individuals who returned between 17 and 29 October, a total of 2,501 were recorded in Sinjar (89%) and 390 were recorded in Al-Ba’aj (11%) – broadly consistent with the rates of individuals’ districts of arrival since 8 June.

The most common sub-district of arrival was Al-Shamal with 1,233 individuals (44%), followed by Qaeyrrawan with 645 individuals (23%), and Markaz Sinjar with 623 individuals (22%). Together, these three sub-districts comprise 91 per cent of all individuals recorded as having arrived to Sinjar and Al-Ba’aj since data collection commenced on 8 June. Otherwise, 302 individuals arrived to the sub-district of Al-Qahtaniyah (11%).

Of those individuals identified as returning between 17 and 29 October, 2,212 were recorded as returnees (79%), while the remaining 591 were recorded as out-of-camp IDPs (21%). This represents a minor deviation from the overall proportion of individuals having been identified as returnees (74%) and out-of-camp IDPs (26%) since 8 June.