Following the battles between the Iraqi army and the Islamic State (IS), thousands of people have left Anbar province, most of them Sunnis. The United Nations announced on April 19 that over 90,000 people fled the province of Anbar in western Iraq and headed toward Baghdad and Shiite-dominated areas in central and southern Iraq.

This large wave of displacement and the humanitarian crisis it resulted in — a lack of accommodation, food and water — has raised the issue of displacement based on sectarian identity. Before this, the migration of citizens had a strict sectarian character; Shiites moved to Shiite areas, Sunnis moved to Sunni areas.

Security procedures at the checkpoints on the entrances to the cities in Iraqi Kurdistan do not allow Arabs to enter Kurdish areas unless they have a “sponsor” who's well known by the local authorities and will act as a guarantor for the displaced.

The migration and displacement in 2004, which took place following clashes between security forces and al-Qaeda in Iraq was characterized by a sectarian aspect. Many Shiites migrated from western and northern Sunni-dominated areas in Iraq, to central and southern areas in Iraq, where Shiites are the majority.