ALEPPO, Syria — Hundreds of Turkmen families traveled from Tal Afar in northwestern Iraq and arrived in Syria along the border with Turkey near Azaz in the northern Aleppo countryside. These families fled the fierce battles the Iraqi army and security forces are waging against the Islamic State (IS). The displaced people crossed hundreds of kilometers from the west side of Mosul to reach the Turkish-Syrian border in order to enter Turkey.

This wave of displaced Iraqi Turkmens from Tal Afar began on Nov. 18 as Iraqi forces approached the city and took control of Tal Afar Airport as well as several surrounding villages to the south of the city.

Turkmens coming from Tal Afar, who have been arriving in Azaz since early December 2016, could not enter Turkish territories because the border crossings with Syria were closed in early April 2015. It became harder to cross the borders illegally since the Turkish government took several measures to limit the flow of refugees, including building an isolating wall. Families had nowhere else to go and could do nothing but wait under tough humanitarian conditions.

Al-Monitor visited the spots where displaced people from Tal Afar settled near Azaz, north of Aleppo. Some displaced people who could afford it rented houses in Azaz, while others settled in the collective al-Shabiba camp near Azaz, where the humanitarian conditions are not good. Most of Tal Afar’s displaced people, however, are lodged in Ikadah camp, which was built in December to accommodate them. The IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation set up this camp with financial support from the Turkish Religious Endowment Directorate, both of which provide food and aid to the camp’s residents.