Trump’s aid freeze halts displaced persons’ return in Kurdistan
Shafaq News / Trump’s decision to suspend aids impacts the situation of displaced persons and refugees in the Kurdistan Region, an Iraqi official warned on Wednesday.
The Director of the Duhok Department of Migration, Displacement, and Crisis Response, Dyan Jaafar, told Shafaq News that halting aids provided through the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) had led to a three-month halt in the return process of displaced persons to their original areas.
Jaafar revealed that “this decision has severe negative impacts on the amount of aid available for displaced persons and refugees,” explaining that “for the past two years, the Kurdistan Regional Government has shouldered the responsibility of providing aid in five key sectors: health, education, waste management, water, and electricity.”
He pointed out that three days ago a UN delegation visited Duhok governor to discuss the situation of displaced persons and refugees in the governorate, and visited the Domiz camp for Syrian refugees, adding that “the significant gap that the US decision will create, especially since 35% of US aid was being provided through the United Nations.”
On January 20, 2025, US President Donald Trump issued a decision to suspend all foreign aid programs funded by USAID for 90 days in order to assess their alignment with US foreign policy. This move directly impacted the agency’s ability to manage and distribute humanitarian aid.
Regarding the impact of aid shortages, Sivi Khalaf, a displaced woman from Sinjar, told Shafaq News that after the cut on the aids “food is no longer sufficient, especially given the difficult health conditions.”
According to statistics from Duhok Department of Migration, Displacement, and Crisis Response, there are 25 camps in the governorate, five of which are designated for Syrian refugees. The number of displaced families stands at 20,814, most of them from Sinjar, while the number of Syrian refugee families exceeds 11,000.
Additionally, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Iraq is home to 334,454 refugees and asylum seekers, along with over 1 million internally displaced persons.
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