Three years after Iraq officially declared victory over the Islamic State (IS), a new batch of over 3,000 of those displaced by the terror group have returned to their homes from Salamiyah camp in Ninevah governorate. The development is part of Iraq's Ministry of Migration and Displacement plan to close this camp and others, the ministry announced Jan. 9. The ministry is planning to close all the displacement camps across Iraq this year.

“This is the first government to create a comprehensive plan to bring the displaced persons back to their areas of origin,” said Minister of Migration and Displacement Ivan Faiek Jabru, one of three female ministers in Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi’s government. 

“We accepted the responsibility to seriously implement this strategy,” she told Al-Monitor, pointing out that previous ministries had focused only on distributing food rations and providing health services. “There were neither voluntary return efforts nor camp closures, and not even support to refugees abroad,” she added.

Over the past six months, more than 66,600 internally displaced persons (IDPs) have returned to their homes.