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Refugees of Iraq are Iraqi nationals who have fled Iraq due to war or persecution. In 1980- 2017, large number of refugees fled Iraq, peaking with the Iraq War and continuing until the end of the War in Iraq (2013–2017). Precipitated by a series of conflicts including the Kurdish rebellions during the Iran–Iraq War (1980 to 1988), Iraq's Invasion of Kuwait (1990) and the Gulf War (1991), the subsequent sanctions against Iraq (1991–2003), culminating in the Iraq War and the subsequent War in Iraq (2013–2017), millions were forced by insecurity to flee their homes in Iraq. Iraqi refugees established themselves in urban areas in other countries rather than refugee camps. In April 2007, there were approximately four million Iraqi refugees around the world, including 1.9 million in Iraq, 2 million in neighboring Middle East countries, and around 200,000 in countries outside the Middle East. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has led the humanitarian efforts for Iraqi refugees. The Iraqi displacement of several million was the largest in the Middle East, exceeding the number of Palestinians displaced during the creation of the state of Israel in 1948. As of 2024, Iraq is experiencing relative stability, but still faces significant humanitarian, development needs, and security challenges. The country has approximately 1.14 million Internally Displaced Persons(IDP) and has seen around 5 million IDP returnees. In 2024, the UNHCR enhanced the transitioning from emergency response to a longer-term development approach, emphasizing durable solutions and strengthening national systems to provide services such as child protection and gender-related violence response. Reasons of refugee 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. Almost all them left Iraq and Kuwait before the war started or after Desert Storm was over. The largest groups were the Kurds and Shi'as fleeing Saddam Hussein after a failed uprising, as well as the Palestinians. Palestinians were the second largest group uprooted by the war, and 300,000 resettled in Jordan. There were a smaller number of Iraqi Arab refugees, only about 37,000, mostly shia who moved to Saudi Arabia. About 100,000 Iraqis escaped to Jordan and Syria. Shia comprise 55% of the Iraqi population, but are excluded from the government by the Sunni Arabs. There was a Shia uprising in March 1991. Saddam Hussein regained control of the Shia dominated South in mid-March, and his cousin, Ali Hasan Majid, conducted public executions, bombarded city centers, and destroyed homes and mosques. 200,000 people died in the South between March and September 1991 from the violence. In 2003, there were 530,000 Iraqi refugees in Iran, mostly Shi’ite Arabs. 1.85 million Kurds fled to the borders of Turkey and Iran. Unlike the Shi'ites, the Kurds had a recognized political leadership—the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) that took control of northern Iraq. As a result of this formal political leadership, the revolution in the Kurdish north was much less violent than in the Shi’ite South, and produced relatively few refugees and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). In late March 1991, the Bush administration gave the Iraqi government permission to use helicopters against the Kurds. These were used to terrorize the Kurdish population. About 450,000 Kurds fled to the mountains bordering Turkey and Iran, and the Hussein government had retaken control of the main Kurdish cities by April 3, 1991. Turkey refused to allow the Kurds into the country, but there was significant media attention to the refugee population. The Kurds on the Iranian border were more isolated and received less media attention, but Iran admitted some groups of refugees and the physical conditions were less harsh than on the Turkish border. In response to this humanitarian crisis, on April 8, 1991 the UN agreed to establish a safe haven in northern 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 US, the UK, France, the Netherlands, and Turkey then created a safe area between the cities of Amadiya, Dihok, and Zakho, and excluded the Iraqi military and police from the area. Near Zakho, the US military built a tent city to hold refugees, but it was not extensively used. The Kurds eventually moved to the safe area. On February 15, 1991, President George H.W Bush called upon the Iraqi people to overthrow Saddam Hussein, which did not occur until 2003 under the administration of his son, President George W. Bush, and incited the recent Iraq War. Iraq War (2003–2011) and civil war (2006–2008) Refugees from Iraq have increased in number since the US-led invasion into Iraq in March 2003. After Saddam Hussein fell in 2003, over 30,000 refugees returned home within two years. But by 2006, they were fleeing again due to sectarian violence that culminated with the al-Askari mosque bombing in February 2006. The US occupation and ethnic conflict among Iraqis ended the minority Sunni governance and allowed the Shi’ite majority to regain control, which worried Iraq’s Sunni majority neighbors, including Saudi Arabia. Terrorist organizations like Al Qaeda have taken advantage of the chaos and violence to establish a presence in Iraq. By February 16, 2007, António Guterres, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, said that the external refugee number fleeing the war reached 2 million and that within Iraq there are an estimated 1.7 million internally displaced people. 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. Iraqi insurgency and civil war (2011–2017) Internally displaced Iraqis There is also a significant number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Iraq. As of April 2017 International Organization for Migration estimated that there were about 3 million Iraqis displaced within the country. Recent statistics from United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) state that as of 2019 there are 2 million internally displaced refugees within Iraq. As the battle to retake areas from ISIS continues, thousands of Iraqis are being displaced on a daily basis. Many IDPs face difficult conditions, and due to.... Discover the Katherine Zoepf popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Katherine Zoepf books.