The Iraqi government’s renewed push to shut down displacement camps throughout the country could leave more than 100,000 people homeless, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) said on Monday, warning scores of families will lack shelter during the pandemic and the coming winter.
Despite the Islamic State’s territorial defeat in Iraq three years ago, the camps that sprang up to receive civilians fleeing the fighting still host hundreds of thousands of refugees. Many are reluctant to leave, fearing they will return to find their homes vandalized or destroyed.