ERBIL, Iraq — The city of Mosul has not been completely liberated yet and risks still abound in the liberated areas, but the Iraqi Ministry of Displacement and Migration announced Feb. 2 that about 46,000 displaced Iraqis have returned to the city's recently liberated east bank.

Mohammed Jumaili, who was displaced from the district of Aden to the Hassan Sham camp in eastern Mosul, is waiting for approval to return to the house he was forced to flee when the battles erupted between the Iraqi counterterrorism forces and the Islamic State (IS) and led to the liberation of the district Nov. 19.

Jumaili had a vegetable shop in the Nabi Yunus market, located on the east bank of the city, and although the city was occupied by IS on June 10, 2014, and he was harassed by IS militants, he continued to work until the Iraqi forces launched their military operations Oct. 17. He stayed home until the Iraqi forces entered his district and fled for fear of the indiscriminate rocket and mortar shelling launched by IS on the liberated neighborhoods.

Jumaili told Al-Monitor, “Although I heard that IS destroyed my shop before fleeing the east bank, I am adamant to return home because life in the camp is very tough and there are no job opportunities. Our areas have been liberated and security has been restored, so why stay here?”