Skip to main content

Why aren't Mosul residents returning to liberated areas?

The residents of Mosul, especially the middle class, are leaving the city in large-scale numbers and have no hope of returning.
People do shopping at Nabi Yunus market after returning to their homes in the city of Mosul, Iraq Picture taken March 19, 2017. REUTERS/Youssef Boudlal - RTX32IG2

MOSUL, Iraq — The Ministry of Displacement and Migration announced March 20 that the number of residents displaced from Mosul has risen to 355,000 since the start of the liberation in October 2016, with the number set to increase. Meanwhile, only 81,000 displaced residents have returned to liberated areas.

People are increasingly flocking to the Directorate of the National Security Service in the Bartala area in eastern Mosul to obtain security permits to travel or flee to other Iraqi provinces. Such permits prove to a certain point that their holders are not members of the Islamic State (IS) and do not work with it.

Access the Middle East news and analysis you can trust

Join our community of Middle East readers to experience all of Al-Monitor, including 24/7 news, analyses, memos, reports and newsletters.

Subscribe

Only $100 per year.