NINEWA: NON-TRADITIONAL IDPS PULLED FROM MANY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 003579

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/28/2017
TAGS: PHUM KDEM PREL MARR EAID IZ
SUBJECT: NINEWA: NON-TRADITIONAL IDPS PULLED FROM MANY
SIDES

SECSTATE FOR USAID

Classified By: Ninewa PRT Team Leader Jason Hyland: 1.4 (B) and (D).

This is a Ninewa Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) message.

Summary
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1. (C) Management of internally displaced persons (IDPs) is a
significant issue facing Ninewa, which contains the second
largest IDP population in Iraq. There is one formal camp and
a few concentrated settlements; however, the majority of IDPs
are spread throughout the ethnic communities in this northern
province. IDPs face difficulties acquiring basic services
and support, and are sometimes perceived to cause a security
concern for the communities in which they settle. IDPs are
players in the political struggle between Kurds and Arabs;
the final status of the province's IDPs could have a
significant effect on the resolution of disputed territories
through the Article 140 process. For example, the proposed
building by the Dahuk governor of a new camp in the northern
Ninewa district of Tal Kaif is widely suspected to be a power
grab and has met locally with significant resistance.

IDPs in Ninewa
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2. (C) The Government of Iraq's (GOI) Ministry of
Displacement and Migration (MoDM) is currently tracking
approximately 12,118 displaced families (66,924 individuals)
in Ninewa. The majority are located in the city of Mosul and
its suburbs. (Note: Though these numbers reflect only those
IDPs registered with MoDM, there is no evidence of a
significantly larger number of unregistered IDPs. End note.)
The only "tent camp" is in the district of Aqrah with less
than 100 families. (Note: Aqrah is a traditionally Sunni
Arab district transferred to the province of Dohuk after the
establishment of the northern no-fly zone. End note.) The
single largest concentration of IDPs in Ninewa is the Herki
Kurds outside Bartalah (reftel). Another large group is in
the old Azadi military camp near the Tal Kaif border with
Dahuk in Faida.


3. (C) Most IDPs in Ninewa Province do not live in camps, but
instead settle in existing communities, either inhabiting
abandoned military facilities, schools, hotels or other
buildings or moving in with friends and family. (Note: After
the massive August 14 bombings in Qahtaniya sub-district,
tents provided by the GOI and international community went
largely unused. People preferred to stay with family and
friends in permanent structures within their ethnic
community. End Note.) Most IDPs in Ninewa typically
experience difficulty obtaining employment and food rations,
as well as problems accessing health care and educational
facilities due to their status.

IDP Solutions -- A Short Road to Nowhere
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4. (C) MoDM policy is to encourage IDPs to return to their
original homes as the best permanent solution for displaced
persons. This policy would require over one-third of
Ninewa's IDPs to return to Baghdad, an unlikely proposition
under current conditions. Other IDPs originated in Mosul and
migrated 30-80 km to the predominantly Christian areas east
of the city for security reasons. These IDPs are largely
safe and well-integrated into their communities.


5. (C) In Sunni-Arab dominated western Ninewa and Mosul
itself, there is pressure for IDPs to return to their areas
of origin, as they are sometimes perceived to be security
threats to the communities in which they settled, either out
of fear of making the community more of a target or that the
IDPs are terrorists themselves. Another problem for IDPs in
western Ninewa is the resolution through the Article 140
process of disputed areas; settled populations view IDPs
suspiciously due to the legacy in Ninewa of demographic
manipulation for political reasons. This history makes
certain western Ninewa populations and political parties more
likely to reject the presence of IDP populations in their
communities if they fear it would sway the Article 140
referendum.

New IDP Camp Seen as Political Move
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6. (SBU) The Dohuk Government has proposed the building of a

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sizable new IDP camp in the Tal Kaif district, in northern
Ninewa, to support an approximate population of 825 families.
Construction would also include such support institutions as
schools, medical treatment facilities and administrative
offices. The proposal has been approved by the Ninewa
Governor and Vice Governor and forwarded to the Central
Government for consideration. Curiously, there is no IDP
population currently identified for residence in this
proposed camp. Because of this and its origin from Dohuk's
governor, local communities speculate that the camp is an
attempt to alter local demographics in preparation for
Article 140; the camp has met with some local resistance.

Comment
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7. (C) IDPs exist in Ninewa, although many of these
populations are not in the traditional "IDP camps." The
solutions to IDP issues in Ninewa are driven by many
competing interests, from security to politics. The PRT will
continue to monitor IDPs in Ninewa and provide assistance and
guidance as the process to integrate or return these
populations moves forward.
BUTENIS