PRT BAGHDAD: DISPLACED PERSONS STILL A CHALLENGE

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAGHDAD 002569 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/17/2016 TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL PTER PINR ASEC IZ SUBJECT: PRT BAGHDAD: DISPLACED PERSONS STILL A CHALLENGE IN 9 NISSAN DISTRICT Classified By: PRT BAGHDAD TEAM LEADER JOE GREGOIRE FOR REASONS 1.4(B) AND (D). ¶1. (C) Summary: In a meeting with PolOffs July 9, representatives of the 9 Nissan's District Advisory Council (DAC) described the difficulties facing the IDPs in the area, notably lack of assistance by the Iraqi government and the international community. The representatives commented on insecurity in the district, emphasizing the danger posed by Sunni fighters crossing into 9 Nissan from the neighboring qadas. The local officials also discussed the hardships facing the district's resident Palestinian population. End summary. ¶2. (C) 9 Nissan DAC Deputy Chairman Haidar Mohammed and Security Chairman Hathem met with Poloffs July 9 to discuss security and human rights issues. Both men immediately brought up the issue of internally displaced persons (IDPs) as the most pressing issue facing the DAC at present. Nine Nissan has been a destination for Shia families for several months, and Hathem provided the following estimates of IDPs in the 9 Nissan neighborhoods. - New Baghdad: 260 families - Al-Obeidy: 320 families - Al-Amin: 156 families - Kamaliya: 73 families Hathem said the DAC recorded these numbers and passed them on to Baghdad Provincial Council Chairman Mueen Hameed, who has been providing IDP statistics to the Iraqi Ministry of Displacement and Migration. Hathem added that the people moving in are Shia from Diyala Province and the qadas surrounding Baghdad. (Comment. Since such families typically comprise seven people, these IDPs would roughly number 5,660. End comment.) ¶3. (C) Hathem and Haider expressed frustration with what they see as a failure on the part of the Provincial Council to provide promised assistance. They said Chairman Mueen promised each of the displaced families in 9 Nissan a small propane tank and fifty kerosene bottles, but Mueen's promose has yet to be redeemed. (Comment: It is unclear to PolOffs how or to whom these resources would be distributed had they been provided. End comment.) Haidar further asserted that many of the displaced families have not been able to transfer their ration allocations to their new locations and so are short of food and other basic supplies. Both men said their repeated requests to Mueen for assistance have gone unanswered. Haider also said the DAC has not seen or heard of any official assistance to local IDPs provided by international, non-governmental, or civil society organizations or political parties. ¶4. (C) Hathim and Haider dismissed reports of threats and forced displacement allegedly originating in 9 Nissan. They characterized the reported threats against local Sunnis as tribal, and other instances of threats and intimidation in 9 Nissan as isolated, uncoordinated events. Both stated repeatedly that 9 Nissan is 'a safe place'; this is the reason, they said, so many families are seeking refuge in the district. (Comment. This account contradicts conversations PolOffs have had with Sunni residents in the district. End comment.) ¶5. (C) Hathim and Haider mentioned the challenges facing 9 Nissan's Palestinian population, especially those residing in the Beladiat neighborhood, which has come under attack in recent weeks. Hathem said the DAC held a meeting the week of 26 June with local MOI security forces to discuss possible measures to provide increased security for the local Palestinians. The only action the participants agreed on are continued patrols. ¶6. (C) Commenting more generally on insecurity in 9 Nissan, Hathim and Haider place greater faith in what they described as local community watches than the local Iraqi police. They claimed that unofficial groups in the Shumamiya, Kamaliya, Al-Obeidy, and Fadhaliya neighborhoods perform the only security role, with no police presence. They went on that the security concerns of the district stem from groups of people and individuals crossing the Diyala river from the eastern neighborhoods, which, in their minds, makes the Al-Amin neighborhood the most dangerous in the district at present. KHALILZAD