Duhok displaced face aid shortfall as UNAMI nears exit

Shafaq News – Duhok

The planned end of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) in early 2026 is tightening pressure on support for displaced families in Duhok, the Kurdistan region, according to the province’s Department of Migration, Displacement, and Crisis Response.

Speaking with Shafaq News on Sunday, department director Dian Jafar explained that the volume of aid provided to internally displaced people “has declined sharply in recent months,” noting that the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has assumed responsibility for delivering essential services, including water, electricity, education, health care, and waste management.

The displaced families, he added, have yet to receive fuel supplies, noting that the department formally contacted Iraq’s Ministry of Migration in early October, which later referred the matter to the Oil Ministry, but no response has been received.

Qasim Khallu, a displaced resident in Duhok, said tents provide limited protection, leaving children and elderly residents especially exposed due to shortages in heating supplies.

Duhok hosts 15 camps for displaced Iraqis and five camps for Syrian refugees, while more than 35,000 displaced families live outside formal camps across the province. For years, international organizations, including UNHCR, IOM, UNICEF, and other NGOs, have supported displaced families in Duhok by providing shelter, food, health care, education, winter aid, and other essential services inside and outside camps.

The UN Security Council extended UNAMI’s mandate in May 2024 for a final 19 months, setting its end date at December 31, 2025, after Iraq formally requested the mission’s closure and a shift toward development-focused cooperation.

Read more: Iraq ends the UNAMI era: A nation steps into theunknown