Displaced people participate in Kurdistan’s Duhok census amid technical challenges

Shafaq News/ Displaced people in Duhok, Kurdistan Region, participated in the population census that began on Wednesday morning, marking the first census in decades.

Duhok’s Census

Duhok province hosts 15 displacement camps, housing nearly 55,875 displaced individuals, both in and out of the camps.

The census began at 8:30 AM, with survey teams covering tents and additional teams handling displaced people in nearby areas, according to Shafaq News correspondent.

Zozan Qasim, a member of the census teams, explained to our agency, "We are visiting families, registering data using national ID cards, and assigning each team a specific number of tents to cover daily."

Zozan noted technical challenges that affected the process, saying, "Unfortunately, some tablets malfunctioned…We are coordinating with the relevant authorities to resolve the issue quickly and ensure the process runs smoothly."

Smooth Process, Wishes to Return

Jasim Hassu, a displaced person, expressed satisfaction with the organization of the census, saying, "This process is going well, and our names were recorded easily…We are cooperating with the census teams, and everything is proceeding smoothly." He added that displaced families were “actively” waiting in tents for registration.

“I wish we were in Sinjar doing this process…We've been here for over 10 years, and our situation remains difficult,” Mirza Khalaf, a displaced person living in a camp, told Shafaq News, referring to the suffering caused by displacement when ISIS took control of Sinjar in 2014.

He continued, "Aid from organizations has dropped significantly. While we want to return, Sinjar still lacks basic services like water, electricity, and security."

About Duhok

Duhok, one of the four provinces in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq along with Erbil, Al-Sulaymaniyah, and Halabja, is located in the country's northwestern corner and shares a border with Turkiye. The province spans approximately 6,550 square kilometers, characterized by its strategic location and mountainous terrain.

Administratively, Duhok comprises several districts, including Duhok City, the provincial capital, along with Zakho, Al-Amediya, Akre, and Simele (Sumail).

As of 2014, Duhok's population was estimated at 1.2 million, predominantly composed of Muslim Kurds, with smaller communities of Arabs and Turkmen.

In recent decades, the province has experienced significant population growth due to internal migration from other parts of Iraq. This demographic expansion has been further fueled by conflict-driven displacement, particularly the influx of Yazidis fleeing ISIS’s occupation of Mount Sinjar.