Displaced Iraqis seek help to return home
Sectarian fear runs deep among Sunni tribesmen who fled Salahuddin where Shia militias are aiding troops battling ISIL.
Published On 26 Dec 2015
Thousands of Sunni Iraqis displaced by conflict say they need help to get home safely from their temporary home in the northern Kurdish region.
The tribesmen fled via escape routes from towns such as Yathrib, in Salahuddin province, during fighting between government-backed Shia militias and the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) group.
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Some now live in camps in Iraqi Kurdistan and are afraid to return home. Sectarian distrust and fear run deep in this community.
Human Rights Watch, the New York-based organisation, says: “Militia abuses are wreaking havoc among some of Iraq’s most vulnerable people and exacerbating sectarian hostilities.”
The Shia militias, or Popular Mobilisation Forces, who are an important part of the Iraqi government’s fight against ISIL, deny allegations of abuse, torture and looting.
Al Jazeera’s Osama Bin Javaid reports from Sulaymania, in northern Iraq.
Source: Al Jazeera