DISPLACEMENT AND RETURNS TO SINJAR AND AL-BA’AJ DISTRICTSDTM EMERGENCY TRACKING

DISPLACEMENT AND RETURNS TO SINJAR AND AL-BA’AJ DISTRICTS

PERIOD COVERED:

8 JUNE – 21 AUGUST 2020

Between 7 and 21 August 2020, DTM tracked 716 individuals (132 families) returning to Sinjar and Al-Ba’aj districts in Iraq’s Ninewa governorate. This brings the total number of individuals that have taken this route to 15,469 (2,850 families) since data collection commenced on 8 June.Of those individuals who returned between 7 and 21 August, a total of 621 were recorded in Sinjar (87%) and 95 were recorded in Al-Ba’aj (13%) – broadly consistent with the rates of individuals’ districts of arrival since 8 June. Rates of arrivals have continued to decline in the month of August after peaking in July. Between 7 and 21 August, the average number of individual arrivals was 48 to Sinjar and 7 to Al-Ba’aaj. This is significantly lower than the overall daily average number of individual arrivals to the two districts since 8 June – which are 192 to Sinjar and 20 to Al-Ba’aj. The most common sub-district of arrival was Al-Shamal with 299 individ-uals (42%), followed by Markaz Sinjar with 228 individuals (32%). Together, these two sub-districts comprise 82% of all individuals recorded as having arrived to Sinjar and Al-Ba’aj since data collection commenced on 8 June. Of those individuals identified as returning between 7 and 21 August, 490 were recorded as returnees (68%), while the remaining 226 were recorded as out-of-camp IDPs (32%). This is consistent with the overall proportion of individuals having been identified as returnees (66%) and IDPs (34%) since 8 June.

*All charts/graphs in this document show total figures for the period of 8 June to 21 August 2020, inclusively

80% from Dahuk

Mostly from Zakho and Sumel districts

19% from Ninewa

Mostly from Al-Shikhan district

<1% from Erbil

All fromErbil district

<1% from Sulaimaniyah

All from Sulaymaniyah district

78% from camp settings

22% from out-of-camp settings

Hatra

Al-Ba'aj

Sinjar

Mosul

Telafar

Erbil

Akre

Baiji

Soran

Kirkuk

Amedi

Makhmur

Daquq

Dokan

Chamchamal

Al-Hawiga

Zakho

Koisnjaq

Sumel

Tilkaif

Ra'ua

Pshdar

Shaqlawa

Dabes

MergasurDahuk

Al-Shirqat

RaniaAl-Hamdaniya

Al-Shikhan

Sulaymaniya

Tooz

Choman

KalarTikrit

Sharbazher

Al-Ka'im Haditha

3 - 708

709 - 3,762

3,763 - 7,053

Number of individuals

Governorate boundary

District boundary

Ninewa

Erbil

Kirkuk

Dahuk

Sulaymaniyah

Salah Al-DinAnbar

Map 1. Population Movements to Sinjar and Al-Ba’aj districts

15,469 INDIVIDUALS

2,850 FAMILIES

Moved to Sinjar and Al-Ba’aj districts

90% to Sinjar

10% to Al-Ba’aj

66% Returnees

34% Out-of-camp

IDPs

INDIVIDUALS BY SUB-DISTRICT OF ARRIVAL

1,481

6,9175,759

1,312

1,386

6,618 5,531

1,218

+228

+94

+299

Al-Qahtaniya Al-Shamal Markaz Sinjar Qaeyrrawan

Al-Baaj Sinjar

+95

8 June – 6 August 7 – 21 August Grand Total

Additionally, between 7 and 21 August, a total of 590 individuals were recorded as departing from Dahuk Governorate (82%) – which is in line with the rates of individuals having departed from there since 8 June (80%). As with all previous rounds, between 7 and 21 August, the majority of indi-viduals from Dahuk were recorded as coming from the districts of Zakho (45% of all individuals) and Sumel (32% of all individuals). The remaining 40 individuals from Dahuk were recorded as coming from Amedi 6% of all individuals.

Furthermore, between 7 and 21 August, a further 100 individuals were

recorded as having come from within Ninewa (30%), from two districts: Sinjar (51 individuals, 7% of all individuals) and Al-Shikhan (49 individuals, 7% of all individuals). The proportion of individuals recorded as having come from Ninewa between 7 and 21 July (14%) is slightly lower than the overall proportion of individuals recorded as having come from there since 8 June (20%). The remaining individuals were recorded as having come from the governorates of Sulaymaniyah (3%) and Erbil (1%).

Since 8 June, almost all individuals have been recorded as having departed from Sumel (50%), Zakho (27%), and Al-Shikhan districts (16%).

+40

+230

+320

+49

+51 +9 +5 212 253

7,761

4,139

2,440

4 417 3 172 32 24 12

Amedi Dahuk Sumel Zakho Al-Shikhan Mosul Sinjar Telafar Tilkaif Erbil Sulaymaniya Sharbazher

Dahuk Ninewa Erbil Sulaymaniyah

INDIVIDUALS BY DISTRICT OF DEPARTURE 8 June – 6 August 7 – 21 August Grand Total

2

DISPLACEMENT AND RETURNS TO SINJAR AND AL-BA’AJ DISTRICTS

Between 7 and 21 August, of the 621 individuals that arrived to Sinjar, 532 individuals came from Dahuk Governorate (86%), while 63 came from within Ninewa (10%), 17 came from Sulaymaniyah (3%), and nine came from Erbil (1%). Additionally, of the 95 individuals that arrived to Al-Ba’aj, 58 came from Dahuk (61%) and 37 came from Ninewa (39%).

In addition, during the same period, a total of 622 individuals were recorded as coming from camp settings (87%), while the remaining 94 individuals came from out-of-camp settings (13%). This is generally consistent with the rates of individuals coming from different settings since 8 June, as follows: 12,018 individuals have arrived from camp settings (78%) compared with 3,451 that have arrived from out-of-camp settings (22%).

Between 7 and 21 August, increases were recorded in the number of individuals who had been living in camp settings in their previous districts of displacement. The total number of individuals in Sinjar and Al-Ba’aj who have come from camp settings within Sumel is now 5,902 (up from 5,734), while Zakho’s is 3,227 (up from 2,907), and Al-Shikhan’s is 1,970 (up marginally from 1,924).

Otherwise, minor increases only were recorded in the number of indi-viduals in Sinjar and Al-Ba’aj that came from out-of-camp settings in their previous districts of displacement.

8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 16 18 21

June July August

33

19

173

82

58

214 220

301

92

616

290

401

562

447

372

268

359

268

707

488

264

389

19

209 196215

284

54 41 4

15182 99

385 33 55

NUMBER OF INDIVIDUAL ARRIVALS PER DAY

© 2020 International Organization for Migration (IOM)The information in this report is the result of data collected by IOM field teams and complements information provided by governmental and other entities in Iraq. IOM Iraq endeavors to keep this information as up to date and accurate as possible, but makes no claim —expressed or implied— on the completeness, accuracy and suitability of the information provided through this report. Names and boundaries on DTM information products do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by IOM.

IOM Iraq thanks the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM) for its continued support.

ADDITIONAL ANECDOTAL NARRATIVE

Reasons for returns• Reasons for IDPs going home to Sinjar include the improved security

situation, the clearing of mines/IEDs, and the rehabilitation of public infrastructure. Mukhtars, local NGOs and returnees have also encour-aged IDPs to return home.

• One of the push factors has been COVID-19, in that some families who had a member working in the area of origin and moving back and forth between Sinjar and an area of displacement could no longer move easily due to the movement restrictions, which then pushed the IDPs to return.

Assistance and registration • It was reported that the Directorate of national security in Sinjar

has established a feedback/ complaint/response mechanism in the

form of a hotline to be used by the new returnees or IDPs willing to return to their areas of origin in Sinjar. The main purpose of the system is to enable the authorities to follow up on emerging issues/complaints, including but not limited to checkpoint related difficul-ties, as well as reports that some of the newly returned individuals occupy buildings that do not belong to them.

Challenges faced by returnees• Debris removal has been noted as an obstacle to return, given the

large-scale destruction that was witnessed in Sinjar.

• There are reports of individuals having returned to areas with limited basic services such as healthcare, markets, water, and electricity and having not received assistance. Some of these locations had not witnessed any returns before.

+46

+40 +9 +48 +3

+168

+62

+320

+5

2,016

424 194 18 253 32 4 191 226

6,070

1,691

3 172

3,547

592 24 12

Camp Out of

camp

Camp Out of

camp

Out of

camp

Out of

camp

Out of

camp

Camp Out of

camp

Camp Out of

camp

Out of

camp

Out of

camp

Camp Out of

camp

Out of

camp

Out of

camp

Al-Shikhan Amedi Dahuk Erbil Mosul Sinjar Sumel Telafar Tilkaif Zakho Sulaymaniya Sharbazher

INDIVIDUALS BY TYPE OF LOCATION IN PREVOUS DISTRICT OF DISPLACEMENT (CAMP/OUT-OF-CAMP)

8 June – 6 August 7 – 21 August Grand Total