Baghdad (AFP)

Hundreds of people displaced by violence in Iraq, most of them women and children, were fired Wednesday from a camp in the north of the country to their home region, despite concerns raised by NGOs about their future living conditions.

Originally from Hawija (north), these people had fled several years ago because of fighting with the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group and found refuge in the Hammam al-Alil camp, 150 km further north.

On Wednesday, officials and members of the Iraqi security forces accompanied the displaced to more than a dozen white buses emblazoned with the Iraqi Ministry of Transport.

Women in black dresses and young children carrying some personal belongings waited in front of the buses, some crying, while officials checked their names on a list of people to leave the IDP camp in Hammam al-Alil.

"We're being sent home, maybe I'll have to live in a camp there because my house was destroyed," says Oum Hikem, a 65-year-old woman who lived for two years in Hammam al -Alil.

"We do not know what will happen to us," she continues.

More than 150 families, about 550 people, must be transferred to the province of Kirkuk (north), according to Ali Khodr, a provincial official responsible for conducting these repatriations.

"A few days ago, 35 families were sent back to the western province of Al-Anbar, and we are working on returning the rest of the displaced to their home provinces," he said. AFP.

Two years after Baghdad proclaimed victory over ISIS jihadists, more than 1.6 million people displaced by the fighting are still living outside their home region.

Some live in camps, others in temporary structures or rented apartments in other parts of Iraq.

- "Open new wounds" -

The government wants all displaced people to return home and the camps closed, but many areas that have been ravaged by the fighting against IS are still devastated and sorely lacking public services.

After hours of waiting under the blazing sun, the buses finally headed for Hawija, according to the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), which runs the camp at Hammam al-Alil.

The NGO is very concerned about the situation, said Tom Peyre-Costa, its press coordinator.

The displaced are at risk of homelessness - having been destroyed - and fearful of possible retaliation from their community for suspicion of possible links with ISIS, he said.

"They are scared and most of the families in Hawija leaving today are undocumented," he told AFP.

"Going home without documents means they will not have access to anything, children will not be allowed to go to school, or to receive care or food," he said.

Peyre-Costa urged the government to redouble efforts to promote reconciliation in the former combat zones where people clashed with each other.

"We have the impression that they want to heal the wounds of the conflict too quickly and by doing so, they open new wounds," he said.

The human rights NGO Amnesty International has described the return as "premature" and called on the Iraqi authorities to halt the return.

"The Iraqi authorities have always assured that all returns are voluntary.This sudden change of policy is worrying and contrary (...) to international humanitarian law," said Amnesty Director for the Middle East, Lynn Maalouf.

© 2019 AFP