By Saman Dawod – Al-monitor.com

NINEVAH, Iraq — The Iraqi Ministry of Immigration and Displacement has announced the suspension of the transfer of Islamic State (IS) families to Ninevah province's Zummar district in northern Iraq, according to an official statement by Sinjar District Administrator Mahama Khalil.

Sinjar is the home to many Yazidis, who saw their ranks decimated by IS in 2014.

The ministry suspended the transfer Feb. 13 after residents of the district warned of security and legal consequences that might lead to sectarian strife and provoke families of Zummar residents who were killed by IS.

Sherwan al-Duberdani, a Kurdish member of parliament for Ninevah, told Al-Monitor that the process of transferring IS families from Syria to Iraq has been halted after he collected signatures of Ninevah's members of the national parliament and voiced their objection to the speaker of parliament and the commander of joint military operations.

Duberdani said that the Omla camp in Zummar district had been selected to receive these families, and that this raised the ire of the province's residents.

The Kurdish legislator, dozens of district residents, a number of members of parliament, politicians and Ninevah leaders had taken part in a protest held in Zummar on Feb. 20 to reject the transfer of IS members from al-Hol camp in Syria to Omla.

A press conference was held by members of parliament to clarify the background and reasons of the decision and express their categorical rejection of the transfer.

Duberdani said the camp was established by the Iraqi Ministry of Displacement and Migration for this purpose, and more than 50% of it has been completed. The overall aim is to accommodate 4,000 tents.

He added that only 4,400 people out of a total of 31,400 people in al-Hol camp are from Ninevah province, and that most of them are women and children.

Jahoor Ali Bek, a Yazidi religious leader, told Al-Monitor that transferring IS families to a region near the city of Sinjar has been rejected and that Yazidis will not accept the transfer because they were the ones to suffer the most from IS.

He said that IS families pose the same threat as that from IS members themselves because the family members have the same ideas, and that the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Regional Government must find a solution to this issue and keep the IS families away from Yazidi areas.