More Than Half of Iraq's Displaced Have Returned Home

Iraqis flee from the Old City of Mosul on July 5, 2017, during the Iraqi forces' offensive to retake the city from ISIS. (AFP / Ahmad Al-rubaye)
Iraqis flee from the Old City of Mosul on July 5, 2017, during the Iraqi forces' offensive to retake the city from ISIS. (AFP / Ahmad Al-rubaye)
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More Than Half of Iraq's Displaced Have Returned Home

Iraqis flee from the Old City of Mosul on July 5, 2017, during the Iraqi forces' offensive to retake the city from ISIS. (AFP / Ahmad Al-rubaye)
Iraqis flee from the Old City of Mosul on July 5, 2017, during the Iraqi forces' offensive to retake the city from ISIS. (AFP / Ahmad Al-rubaye)

More than half of Iraqis displaced by conflict to other parts of the country have returned to their homes, the UN migration agency said on Thursday.

At the end of December, more than 3.2 million displaced Iraqis had gone home while 2.6 millions still lived away, the International Organization for Migration said.

"The retaking of areas by the Iraqi forces is significant, as is the improvement of security," said IOM communications officer Sandra Black.

More than a third of those internally displaced are in the northern province of Nineveh, after tens of thousands fled second city Mosul during the months-long military campaign to retake the city from ISIS.

More than one million Iraqis have returned home to the Sunni-majority western province of Anbar, from which Iraqi forces expelled the last militants late last year.

Nearly one third are reported to have returned to houses that have been significantly or completely damaged, Agence France Presse quoted Black as saying.

Around 60 percent went back to housing that was only moderately damaged.

Other infrastructure has also been affected in the fighting, with residents in some areas reporting no water or power supply.



Israel Vows to Prevent an Aid Boat Carrying Greta Thunberg, Activists from Reaching Gaza

Climate activist Greta Thunberg stands near a Palestinian flag after boarding the Madleen boat and before setting sail for Gaza along with activists of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, departing from the Sicilian port of Catania, Italy, Sunday, June 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Salvatore Cavalli)
Climate activist Greta Thunberg stands near a Palestinian flag after boarding the Madleen boat and before setting sail for Gaza along with activists of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, departing from the Sicilian port of Catania, Italy, Sunday, June 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Salvatore Cavalli)
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Israel Vows to Prevent an Aid Boat Carrying Greta Thunberg, Activists from Reaching Gaza

Climate activist Greta Thunberg stands near a Palestinian flag after boarding the Madleen boat and before setting sail for Gaza along with activists of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, departing from the Sicilian port of Catania, Italy, Sunday, June 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Salvatore Cavalli)
Climate activist Greta Thunberg stands near a Palestinian flag after boarding the Madleen boat and before setting sail for Gaza along with activists of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, departing from the Sicilian port of Catania, Italy, Sunday, June 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Salvatore Cavalli)

Israel’s defense minister has vowed to prevent an aid boat carrying Greta Thunberg and other activists from reaching the Gaza Strip.

Defense Minister Israel Katz said Sunday that Israel wouldn't allow anyone to break its naval blockade of the Palestinian territory, which he said was aimed at preventing Hamas from importing arms.

Thunberg, a climate campaigner is among 12 activists aboard the Madleen, which is operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition. The vessel departed Sicily last Sunday on a mission that aims to break the sea blockade of Gaza and deliver humanitarian aid, while raising awareness over the growing humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian enclave, The AP news reported.

The activists had said they planned to reach Gaza’s territorial waters as early as Sunday.

Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament who is of Palestinian descent, is among the others onboard. She has been barred from entering Israel because of her opposition to Israeli policies toward the Palestinians.

After a three-month total blockade aimed at pressuring Hamas, Israel started allowing some basic aid into Gaza last month, but humanitarian workers have warned of famine unless the blockade and the war end.

An attempt last month by Freedom Flotilla to reach Gaza by sea failed after another of the group’s vessels was attacked by two drones while sailing in international waters off Malta. The group blamed Israel for the attack, which damaged the front section of the ship.