Iraq – Emergency Tracking - Displacement and Returns to Sinjar and Al-Ba’aj Districts (4 - 31 January 2021)

Between 4 and 31 January 2021, DTM tracked 1,256 individuals (227 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 46,558 (8,721 families) since data collection commenced on 8 June 2020.

In this reporting period, the average number of daily individual arrivals was 39 to Sinjar (down significantly from 111 in the last round) and five to Al-Ba’aj (down from 10 in the last round). In this period, the daily number of arrivals to Sinjar was significantly lower than the overall daily average since 8 June (181). The daily number of arrivals to Al-Ba’aj was also lower than the overall daily average since 8 June (17).

Of those individuals who arrived between 4 and 31 January 2021, a total of 1,124 were recorded in Sinjar (89%) and 132 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 731 individuals (58%), followed by Markaz Sinjar with 283 individuals (23%). Together, these two sub-districts comprise 78 per cent of all individuals recorded as having arrived to Sinjar and Al-Ba’aj since data collection commenced on 8 June. Otherwise, 132 arrived to Al-Qahtaniyah (10%) and 110 individuals arrived to the sub-district of Qaeyrrawan (9%).

Of those individuals identified as returning between 4 and 31 January 2021, 1,058 were recorded as returnees (84%), while the remaining 198 were recorded as out-of-camp IDPs (16%). This represents a minor deviation from the overall proportion of individuals having been identified as returnees (77%) and out-ofcamp IDPs (23%) since 8 June.
Additionally, between 4 and 31 January 2021, a total of 993 individuals were recorded as departing from Dahuk Governorate (79%) – which is similar to the rates of individuals having departed from there since 8 June (81%). As with all previous rounds, between 4 and 31 January 2021, the majority of individuals from Dahuk were recorded as coming from the districts of Sumel (61% of all individuals) and Zakho (16%). The remaining individuals from Dahuk Governorate were recorded as coming from the districts of Amedi (2% of all individuals) and Dahuk (<1%).

Additionally, between 3 and 31 January 2021, a further 183 individuals were recorded as having come from within Ninewa (15% of all individuals), from two districts: 168 came from Al-Shikhan (14%) and 15 came from Sinjar (1%).
This proportion (15%) of individuals recorded as having come from Ninewa between 4 and 31 January 2021 is consistent with the overall proportion of individuals recorded as having come from there since 8 June (18%). Otherwise, in this reporting period, 80 individuals arrived from Sulaymaniyah Governorate (6%), and unlike previous rounds, no individuals arrived from Erbil or Kerbala Governorates.

Since 8 June, almost all individuals have been recorded as having departed from the districts of Sumel (49%) and Zakho (28%) in Dahuk Governorate, and Al-Shikhan (14%) in Ninewa Governorate.

Between 4 and 31 January 2021, of the 1,124 individuals who arrived to Sinjar District, 899 came from Dahuk Governorate (80%), while 145 came from within Ninewa (13%), and 80 came from Sulaymaniyah (7%). Additionally, of the 132 individuals who arrived to Al-Ba’aj District, 94 came from Dahuk Governorate (71%) and 38 came from within Ninewa (29%).

Furthermore, during the same period, a total of 589 individuals were recorded as coming from camp settings (47%), while the remaining 667 individuals came from out-of-camp settings (53%). This represents a deviation from the rates of individuals coming from different settings since 8 June, as follows: 32,182 individuals have arrived from camp settings (69%) while 14,376 individuals have arrived from out-of-camp settings (31%).