Kurdish officials from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) have warend the United Nations that they’re bracing for an additional 500,000 Mosul refugees once the new military offensive against the so-called Islamic State begins in Mosul.
The UN’s special envoy recently visited Iraqi Kurdistan and spoke to KRG officials and Rudaw news. She said that KRG officials have already housed more than 2 million refugees and are putting into place a plan to accommodate at least 500,000 more refugees.
Already Overcrowded with Refugees
While Iraqi Kurdistan is bracing for more Mosul refugees, it has already been flooded refugees from the conflict — estimates put the number of refugees in Iraqi Kurdistan at 2.2 million displaced in Iraq in 2014, alone. That number is comprised of an estimated 250,000 refugees from Syria and 2 million from Iraq.
Most of these refugees have sought safe harbor in Erbil and Dohuk because the alternative option — Baghdad — is not believed to be safe.
This number will only increase as the KRG and Peshmerga embark on a effort to push ISIS out of Mosul and out of Iraqi Kurdistan.
[Read more at Rudaw]
