Refugees of Iraq

Iraqi–Kurdish conflict Persian Gulf War On August 2, 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait. The ensuing 1991 Gulf War produced nearly three million refugees, many of them from Iraq. To this end, two days later the US and its allies established the northern no-fly zone. This was in conjunction with the highly successful British initiative Operation Provide Comfort. In response to the humanitarian crisis, the US tried to station unarmed aid workers in northern Iraq, but the Kurds refused to return. The refugee traffic out of the country has increased since the intensification of civil war. As many as 110,000 Iraqis could be targeted as collaborators because of their work for coalition forces. A May 25, 2007 article notes that in the past seven months only 69 people from Iraq have been granted refugee status in the United States. Roughly 40% of Iraq's middle class is believed to have fled. Most are fleeing systematic persecution and have no desire to return. The Arab Spring and Syrian Civil War were also ongoing at this time. Many Iraq militants crossed over into Syria, and ISIS, which had formed as an offshoot of Al-Qaeda in Iraq, seized large amounts of territory in Syria. They then launched an invasion into northern Iraq. They moved quickly, capturing Fallujah in January, Ramadi, Samarra, Mosul, Tikrit, in June, and Sinjar in August. 500,000 people in Mosul were displaced. On August 3rd 2014, hundreds of ISIS fighters attacked Sinjar in northern Iraq, targeting the Yazidi community. Sinjar is a major Yazidi community. ISIS views the Yazidis as "devil-worshippers". 400,00 Yazidi were forced to flee their homes, with 5,000 men being executed and over 7,000 women and children captured and used as sex-slaves, some to ISIS fighters in Syria. Many boys were trained as child soldiers. ISIS also targeted other religious minorities, including Christians. Despite ISIS losing all territory from Iraq in 2017, many female survivors are unwilling or unable to return to their homes, remaining in displaced person camps. ISIS insurgency (2017-present) 1 million people are internally displaced in Iraq since 2024 and $158.5 million are necessary in 2025 to make sure that operations and programmes in Iraq are continuous. ==Internally displaced Iraqis==

There is also a significant number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Iraq. As of September 2025 International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimated that there were about 1 million Iraqis displaced within the country. Recent statistics from United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) state that as of 2024 there are 1 million internally displaced refugees within Iraq. As the war to eradicate ISIS continues, thousands of Iraqis are being displaced on a daily basis. Many IDPs face difficult conditions, and due to continued instability and lack of resource are unlikely to be able to go home. At the end of July 2007 the NGO Coordinating Committee in Iraq (NCCI) and Oxfam International issued a report, Rising to the Humanitarian Challenge in Iraq, that declared that one-third of the populace was in need of aid. The NCCI is an alliance of approximately 80 international NGOs and 200 Iraqi NGOs, formed in Baghdad in 2003. The report, based on survey research of the nation's civilian population, found that 70 percent of the Iraqi population lacks proper access to water supplies. Only 20 percent of the population has proper sanitation and 30 percent of children experience malnutrition. About 92 percent of children experience problems learning. These figures represent sharp increases since 2003. There is a need to address the elderly, disabled population, and disadvantaged families through physical, mental, and social support to help them return to Iraq once the war ends and conditions are stabilized. ==Host countries==

Iraqi refugees have mainly fled into urban centers across region, rather than in refugee camps. At the beginning of 2007, the UNHCR estimated that the number of Iraqi refugees in Syria was over 1.2 million. According to the UNHCR, about 27% of Iraqi refugee families in Syria are without a breadwinner. Syrian's deputy foreign minister has stated that the price of food has increased by 30%, property prices by 40%, and rentals by 150%. Refugees flee Syrian civil war, and targeted executions In 2012–13, as a Syrian civil war intensified, many Iraqi refugees fled the rising violence. Fewer than 200,000 Iraqis remained in Syria in 2012, according to the office of the Iraqi ambassador in Damascus. Many of the Iraqis were helped to return to Iraq by the provision of free flights and bus tickets, paid for by the Iraqi government. Tens of thousands of Iraqi families traveled back to their original country, although Iraq is itself unstable, and sectarian bomb attacks occur there almost daily. The majority of Iraqis fleeing back from Syria in 2012 were Shia according to a spokesman for the Iraqi Ministry of Displacement and Migration. The UN refugee agency said Iraqis in the mainly Shia Damascus suburb of Sayeda Zeinab were fleeing not only increasing violence but "targeted threats" against them. In July 2012, the most intense fighting of the 17-month-old Syrian conflict began. Rebels took over whole neighborhoods of the Syrian capital, and government forces responded ferociously. Amid the fighting, it appears rebel fighters specifically targeted Iraqis. According to the UN, an Iraqi family of seven was killed at gunpoint in their Damascus apartment. 23 Iraqi refugees were reported killed in July, some by beheaded, according to the Washington-based Shiite Rights Watch. The attacks reflect the sectarian nature of Syria's war, In which opposition mostly from the country's Sunni majority has risen up against the government of Syrian President Assad. Motives for attacks against Iraqi refugees are unclear, but may be due to antagonism towards Shia generally, because of their sectarian association with the government, or because Iraq's Shiite-led government is perceived as siding with Assad. Though Baghdad has publicly vowed not to become involved with Syria's war, skeptics believe it is at least helping Iran ship weapons and reinforcements to Assad's government. In March, the US urged Baghdad to cut off its airspace to flights headed to Syria from Iran, and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki pledged to curb arms smuggling across his borders into Syria. Lebanon Many Shi'a Iraqis fleeing Saddam Hussein in the 1990s moved to Lebanon. A 2007 article by the journal Middle East Report reported that Lebanon hosted around 40,000 Iraqi refugees. In 2007, Egypt imposed restrictions on the entry of new refugees into the country. Sweden Sweden has seen surges of refugees from Iraq, especially in 2001 - 2002, 2006 - 2007 and in 2015. Sweden has accepted more than half of all asylum applications from Iraqis in Europe. In 2006, close to 9,000 Iraqis fled their country and came to Sweden seeking shelter, a four times increase over 2005. The following year (2007) the number of Iraqi asylum seekers doubled, reaching more than 18,000. An estimated 146,400 Iraqis now call Sweden their home, and a further 58,900 persons have been born in Sweden and have two Iraqi parents. Many Iraqis fled to Sweden during the 90's as well. Current refugees like Sweden because many of their relatives are there and because of the generous refugee policies. Other countries Since 2006, Iraqis have been the leading nationality seeking asylum in industrialized countries. Increasing tensions in the Middle East and the treatment of Iraqi refugees as temporary guests in the Arab states has led to increased travel distance for Iraqi asylum seekers. ==Third country resettlement==

In 2008, the UNHCR resettled 17,800 Iraqi refugees in third countries outside the Middle East. The US aimed to settle at least 5,000 refugees in the US by the end of 2007. Kristele Younes of Refugees International supported these moves towards resettlement, but she said that "the numbers remain low compared to what the needs are." A July 22, 2007 article notes that in 2007 only 133 of the planned 7000 Iraqi refugees were allowed into the United States. USRAP involves both governmental and non-governmental partners to resettle refugees in the United States. USCIS officers interview Iraqi refugees in Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Lebanon, and Iraq, and have not been able to work in Syria since March 2011. According to the List Project, led by Kirk W. Johnson, "Poland, which had approximately 2,500 troops at its peak, was scheduled to withdraw its forces from Iraq by October 2008. Building on the successful precedent set by Denmark and the eventual British airlift, the Polish government offered all of their Iraqi employees either full resettlement or a one-time payment of $40,000 if they remained in Iraq." ==Minorities==

Kurds Among Iraqi refugees in Germany, about 50 percent are Kurds. In the UK, about 65-70% of people originating from Iraq are Kurdish, and 70% of those from Turkey and 15% of those from Iran are Kurds. Assyrians/Christians Perhaps as many as half a million Assyrians and Armenians are thought to have fled the sectarian fighting in Iraq, with Christians bearing the brunt of animosity toward a perceived "crusade" by the United States in Iraq. Most chose to go to Syria due to the cultural similarities between the two countries, Syria's open-door policy to Iraqis, and the large population of Assyrians and other Christians in the country which perhaps totals as high as 2 million. The large influx of Iraqis may tip the demographic scale in a country with a diverse population. Although Christians represent less than 5% of the total Iraqi population, they made up 40% of the refugees now living elsewhere, according to U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. Between October 2003 and March 2005 alone, 36% of 700,000 Iraqis who fled to Syria were Assyrians and other Christians, judging from a sample of those registering for asylum on political or religious grounds. Mandaeans Mandaeans are an ancient ethnoreligious group in southern Iraq. They are the last practicing gnostic sect in the Middle East. There are thought to have been about 40,000 Mandaeans in Iraq prior to the US-led invasion. As a non-Muslim group, they have been abused by sectarian militias. The vast majority of Baghdadi Mandaeans left Baghdad; many have fled to Syria, Jordan and elsewhere while Mandaean communities of southern Iraq are mostly secure. Mandaean diaspora organizations are reportedly focusing all their resources on evacuating all the remaining Mandaeans in Iraq. Palestinians A small Palestinian population of about 38,000 also faced pressure, with many living in the Baghdadi neighborhood of al-Baladiya. Denied access by Syria, more than 350 Palestinians remained in "inhumane conditions" on the Syrian border until finally being allowed into the country. They face more uncertain conditions because most Palestinians do not hold Iraqi citizenship and consequently do not hold passports. The UNHCR appealed to Israel to allow this particular group of refugees admission into the occupied territories of Gaza and the West Bank. The agency said that from resettlement countries, only Canada and Syria had taken Palestinians from Iraq in the past. Yazidis The Yazidi community was affected by several acts of violence in 2007. On April 23, 2007 masked gunmen abducted and shot 23 Yazidis near Mosul. On August 14, 2007 Yazidis were targeted in a series of bombings that became the deadliest suicide attack since the Iraq War began. ==Challenges==

Iraqi refugee populations face unique challenges, particularly since they are located in urban centers rather than in refugee camps. Access to public services like health care and education is very limited for refugees. In late 2007, less than 40% of Iraqi refugee children attended school. In many host countries, education is offered free of charge to all children, including refugees. However, the cost of books, uniforms, and a lack of inexpensive transportation prevents many Iraqi refugee children from actually attending school. There is little data available on the health status of Iraqi refugees, but limited reports indicate that they suffer worse health than that of their host populations. Psychological health care is especially crucial yet lacking, as many Iraqis suffer psychologically as a result of witnessing extreme violence. The current lack of health care contrasts greatly to the high-quality and accessible health services offered in Iraq before the 2003 invasion. ==International aid==

On April 17, 2007 an international conference on the Iraqi refugee crisis began in Geneva, Switzerland. Attendees included Human Rights Watch representatives, US Undersecretary of State Paula Dobriansky, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees representatives and members of 60 other Non-Governmental Organizations. The World Health Organization began a two-day conference in Damascus, Syria, on July 29, 2007. The conference addressed the health requirements of the more than two million refugees from Iraq. Aside from the WHO, participants in the conference included the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Red Crescent, and various UN agencies. On September 18, 2007, the UNHCR, WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, and WFP launched an appeal for $84.8 million to help host countries meet health and nutrition needs of Iraqi refugees. The funds support clinics, facilities, medicines, and medical supplies. In 2007, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Turkey, UN agencies, and NGOs assisting Iraqi refugees received about $60 million to better provide for Iraqi refugee populations. $27 million was allocated to health care as part of the UN joint health appeal. As of 2007, the US has pledged $18 million and the European Union has pledged 50 million euros to assist Iraqi refugees. ==See also==