GENEVA, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- The UN migration agency, IOM, said Friday more than 33,000 people have been displaced in the retaking of the town of Hawija near Kirkuk in northern Iraq in the fight against the Islamic State group.
IOM said its Displacement Tracking Matrix reported that the people have been displaced since the launch of the offensive two weeks ago and of them, more than 15,200 are still displaced and 17,700 have returned to their homes.
IOM spokesperson Joel Millman said at a UN media briefing that the latest wave of internally displaced people comes in addition to 102,708 people previously identified as displaced from Hawija between August 2016 and September 20, 2017 due to earlier military operations.
Iraqi forces on Sept. 21 began military operations against IS's final holdouts in central Iraq -- in Hawija district of Kirkuk, and Shirqat in Salah al-Din -- which were seized by the group in 2014, said the IOM.
"Across Iraq, more than 3.2 million Iraqis continue to be displaced due to the current crisis, which began in January 2014. Nearly half live in private settings, while 24 percent are in camps, and 12 percent are in critical shelter arrangements," like informal settlements, religious buildings, unfinished buildings, said Millman.