New obstacles to return of Yazidi refugees (IDPs), officials ask for money for return
According to a follow-up conducted by the KirkukNow news agency in recent weeks, many Yazidi families who intended to return to their homes in Sinjar were not allowed to return at the Tobal district checkpoint on the grounds that they had not received security clearance.
The checkpoint, which is controlled by the Iraqi army, is located between Rabia and Sinuni district, west of Nineveh province. There are IDPs who wanted to return to Sinjar, but they had to wait 10 days or a month to get a permit and a pass.
"Any displaced family who wants to return should receive a letter from the District Commissioner and the Iraqi Department of Migration and Displacement by mail to the Operational Command of Western Nineveh, where it goes through a lengthy verification process before giving approval and listing the names of the returnees in the electronic system so that they can enter through the screening points", says Hodida Joki, director of the Sanoni subdistrict.
The security check of Sinjar citizens is carried out by the Operational Command of Western Nineveh and is aimed at establishing whether the families are connected to ISIS or not.
There are over 600,000 displaced people in Kurdistan, some of whom are spread across 26 camps, Yazidis make up 30 percent of the total number of displaced persons, most of whom are from the Sinjar region.
A Sinjar police source, who asked not to be named because he is not authorized to comment, told KirkukNow that every displaced Yazidi family must pay to get permission from the operational Command of Western Nineveh to be able to return. This instruction came from the special services and they cannot be ignored.
Sinjar district (120 km west of Mosul), one of the disputed areas, administratively part of the Nineveh region. ISIS militants attacked the area on August 3, 2014, thousands of residents of the area were killed, abducted and displaced before it was recaptured on November 13, 2015.
Ammar Aziz - Dohuk
Tags: #yazidisinfo #newsyazidis #aboutyazidis #idpsyazidi #iraqyazidis
New obstacles to return of Yazidi refugees (IDPs), officials ask for money for return
According to a follow-up conducted by the KirkukNow news agency in recent weeks, many Yazidi families who intended to return to their homes in Sinjar were not allowed to return at the Tobal district checkpoint on the grounds that they had not received security clearance.
The checkpoint, which is controlled by the Iraqi army, is located between Rabia and Sinuni district, west of Nineveh province. There are IDPs who wanted to return to Sinjar, but they had to wait 10 days or a month to get a permit and a pass.
"Any displaced family who wants to return should receive a letter from the District Commissioner and the Iraqi Department of Migration and Displacement by mail to the Operational Command of Western Nineveh, where it goes through a lengthy verification process before giving approval and listing the names of the returnees in the electronic system so that they can enter through the screening points", says Hodida Joki, director of the Sanoni subdistrict.
The security check of Sinjar citizens is carried out by the Operational Command of Western Nineveh and is aimed at establishing whether the families are connected to ISIS or not.
There are over 600,000 displaced people in Kurdistan, some of whom are spread across 26 camps, Yazidis make up 30 percent of the total number of displaced persons, most of whom are from the Sinjar region.
A Sinjar police source, who asked not to be named because he is not authorized to comment, told KirkukNow that every displaced Yazidi family must pay to get permission from the operational Command of Western Nineveh to be able to return. This instruction came from the special services and they cannot be ignored.
Sinjar district (120 km west of Mosul), one of the disputed areas, administratively part of the Nineveh region. ISIS militants attacked the area on August 3, 2014, thousands of residents of the area were killed, abducted and displaced before it was recaptured on November 13, 2015.
Ammar Aziz - Dohuk
Tags: #yazidisinfo #newsyazidis #aboutyazidis #idpsyazidi #iraqyazidis
