Dohuk

Map 17: Dohuk governorate with district borders, district capitals and main roads, © United Nations

2.8.1 General description of governorate Basic geography

Dohuk (Dahuk, Duhok, Dihok) governorate is a part of the Kurdistan region of Iraq (KRI) and Iraq’s northernmost governorate. It is located in the north-west of Iraq and shares an international border with Turkey and Syria.¹⁶⁷⁶ Internally, Dohuk has borders with the

governorates of Ninewa and Erbil.¹⁶⁷⁷ The area of the governorate is 6 553 square kilometres, its capital is Dohuk (Dahuk, Duhok, Dihok), and it has four districts: Amedi (Amedeye, Al-Amadiya, Al Amedi), Dohuk (Dahuk, Duhok, Dihok), Sumel (Sumail, Semeal, Semel, Summel) and Zakho.¹⁶⁷⁸ Akri and Sheikhan districts are parts of Ninewa governorate but have been administered by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) since the establishment of the

‘Green Line’ after the ceasefire between the Iraqi government and the Kurds in 1991.¹⁶⁷⁹ The administrative centre of the KRI lies formally in Erbil but the control of the region is divided between KRI’s two main dominant political parties. The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) exercises its power over Dohuk and Erbil governorates and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) controls Sulaymaniyah governorate.¹⁶⁸⁰

1676 UNOCHA and iMMAP, Iraq: Duhok Governorate Reference Map 2020, 5 May 2020, url; NCCI, Dohuk Governorate Profile, updated December 2015, url, p. 2

1677 UNOCHA and iMMAP, Iraq: Duhok Governorate Reference Map 2020, 5 May 2020, url

1678 Cardiff University, IDPs and the Informal Economy: Innovations in Dahuk, Kurdistan Region of Iraq, 2021, url, p. 3

1679 Ahn, J. et al., The Politics of Security in Ninewa: Preventing an ISIS Resurgence in Northern Iraq, 7 May 2018, url; pp. 5-6

1680 Bakawan, Adel, Email to DIDR (OFPRA), 10 December 2018; Adel Bakawan is a French Kurdish sociologist and researcher with the Kurdistan Centre for Sociology at Soran University. He is also an Associate Research Fellow with the Institut Francais des Relations Internationales (IFRI). OFPRA invited him as a guest speaker in December and the source confirmed the notes via email, cited in: EASO, Country of Origin Information Report, Iraq, Security situation, October 2020, url, p. 156; see also Abdullah, F. H. and Hama, H. H., The nature of the political system in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, 29 April 2019, url, p. 2; NCCI, Erbil Governorate Profile, updated December 2015, url;

p. 2; Iraq, KRG, Facts & Figures, n.d., url

198 Population estimates

For 2021, the Iraqi CSO estimated¹⁶⁸¹ the governorate’s population at 1 396 480 with around 362 000 people living in rural areas and around 1 034 000 in urban areas.¹⁶⁸²

Ethno-religious composition

The main ethnic group in Dohuk governorate are Kurds; small minority groups comprise Assyrians, Chaldeans, Arabs, Armenians and Yazidis.¹⁶⁸³ As of 2016, Dohuk governorate was home to an important part of Iraq’s Christian population;¹⁶⁸⁴ adherents of Zoroastrianism were also found in Dohuk, mainly in Zakho district¹⁶⁸⁵ and the Armenian community predominantly lived in Zakho city.¹⁶⁸⁶ According to the Dohuk Governorate website, the city of Dohuk has a population of 340 000, the majority of which are Kurds, but a significant Assyrian community lives in the city as well. Additionally, Assyrian and Yazidi IDPs moved to the city in the

aftermath of the 2014 ISIL invasion of their home areas.¹⁶⁸⁷ Meanwhile, as of 2019, the Arab version of the governorate’s website stated that the city of Dohuk had a population of

421 858.¹⁶⁸⁸ According to IOM assessments of 2019, 50 % of IDPs in Dohuk were Sunni or Shia Kurds and 9 % Sunni Muslim Arabs; 35 % were Yazidis, 4 % belonged to other minorities (Christians, Kaka’i, Shabaks) and 1% were Sunni or Shia Turkmens.¹⁶⁸⁹

Economy

The KRI has been experiencing a severe financial crisis as a result of loss in oil revenue, the COVID-19 pandemic,¹⁶⁹⁰ and the fight against ISIL.¹⁶⁹¹ In addition, the economic crisis is fuelled by disagreements between the regional and central governments over the management of their oil wealth.¹⁶⁹² Civil servants in the KRI have suffered for years from irregular income for these reasons.¹⁶⁹³

As of 2015, the economy of Dohuk was described as being comprised of foreign investment, bilateral trade with Turkey, tourism, construction, some agriculture and some oil

1681 It should be noted that the last comprehensive Population and Housing Census for Iraq was conducted in 1987.

The last official census covering current Baghdad-administered Iraq dates from 1997. However, the population of Dohuk, Erbil and Sulaymaniyah was not included and only estimates were provided. UNFPA, Newsletter 2020 Census, December 2019, url, p. 1; Rudaw, Iraq’s population now over 40 million: planning ministry, 12 January 2021, url; Kurdistan24, Kurdistan PM: Demographic change must be considered in upcoming Iraqi census, 21 June 2021, url; IOM, Demographic Survey, Kurdistan Region of Iraq, July 2018, url, pp. 9, 14

1682 Iraq, CSO, 2021 ةنسل سنجلاو ةئيبلاو تاظفاحملا بسح قارعلا ناكس تاريدقت [Demographic and population indicators, Estimates for the population of Iraq by governorate, environment and gender for the year 2021] [Table], n.d., url

1683 American University of Kurdistan, Life in Dohuk, n.d., url

1684 USCIRF, Wilting in the Kurdish Sun: The hopes and fears of religious minorities in Northern Iraq, May 2017, url, pp. 17, 18

1685 USCIRF, Wilting in the Kurdish Sun: The hopes and fears of religious minorities in Northern Iraq, May 2017, url, p. 19

1686 USCIRF, Wilting in the Kurdish Sun: The hopes and fears of religious minorities in Northern Iraq, May 2017, url, p. 27

1687 Iraq, Duhok Province, Demographics, n.d., url

1688 Iraq, Duhok Province, ةيناكسلا ةبيك يلا [Demographics], n.d., url

1689 IOM, Iraq, Integrated Location Assessment IV, 4 February 2020, url, p. 62

1690AW, Unrest spreads to Iraqi Kurdistan over socioeconomic woes, 25 August 2020, url

1691 Al-Monitor, Dozens killed, injured in Iraq’s Kurdistan protests as some consider leaving, 11 December 2020, url

1692 EPC, Differences between Baghdad and Erbil: Economic and Political Consequences and Early Elections, 18 August 2020, url

1693 Al-Monitor, Dozens killed, injured in Iraq’s Kurdistan protests as some consider leaving, 11 December 2020, url

199

exploration.¹⁶⁹⁴ In September 2020, an IOM study found that key informants¹⁶⁹⁵ regarded agriculture and industry as the main sectors in Sumel district¹⁶⁹⁶ and trade, manufacturing, agriculture, and construction as the main sectors in Zakho district.¹⁶⁹⁷ After a slowdown due to COVID-19 restrictions, the economy in Dohuk was recovering step by step as of August 2020, with merchandise trade between the KRI and Turkey via the Ibrahim Khalil checkpoint

gradually reviving.¹⁶⁹⁸ Reportedly, the Ibrahim Khalil checkpoint is among Iraq’s and KRI’s most important border crossings and has strategic importance as a connection between KRI and Europe.¹⁶⁹⁹ Recurrent protests and social unrest related to delayed payment of employees, teachers and students, have been reported in KRG governorates. Protests led to the arrest of a number of activists by Kurdish authorities.¹⁷⁰⁰

Road security

Only little information on road security and checkpoints in Dohuk governorate could be found for the reference period. In November 2020, according to OCHA, which assessed the district access difficulty levels as perceived by humanitarian actors in Iraq, there are moderate access constraints in Zakho and Amedi districts, and low access constraints in Sumel and Dohuk districts.¹⁷⁰¹ Moreover, according to French journalist Sylvain Mercadier, following the

presence of Turkish drones, access to emptied villages has been described as ‘very hard’ due to the conflict between Turkey and the PKK.¹⁷⁰²

As for the reference period for the current report, ACLED reported ten incidents related to road security, five of which were incidents of explosions/remote violence, three were related to battles, and two to violence against civilians.¹⁷⁰³

2.8.2 Conflict background

In 1998, Dohuk and Erbil came under the control of the KDP with the end of the Kurdish civil war¹⁷⁰⁴ and, based on Iraq’s 2005 Constitution, the federal Kurdistan region was established in the governorates of Erbil, Dohuk and Sulaymaniyah.¹⁷⁰⁵ From the beginning of the ISIL conflict in 2014 until 2017, Dohuk governorate reportedly enjoyed a ‘stable security

situation’.¹⁷⁰⁶ While Dohuk governorate was not affected by ISIL attacks, the security situation

1694 NCCI, Dohuk Governorate Profile, updated December 2015, url, pp. 2-3

1695 Ten representatives of the business community in Sumel district took part in key informant interviews. IOM Iraq, Labour Market Assessment: Sumel District, Dohuk Governorate, September 2020, url, p. 7

1696 IOM Iraq, Labour Market Assessment: Sumel District, Dohuk Governorate, September 2020, url, p. 8

1697 IOM Iraq, Labour Market Assessment: Zakho District, Dohuk Governorate, September 2020, url, p. 4

1698 Basnews, اهتيفاع ديعتست تأدب ةيراجتلا ةكرحلا : كوهد ةعانصو ةراجت ةفرغ سيئر [Head of Dohuk Chamber of Commerce and Industry: Economy is starting to recover], 22 August 2020, url

1699 WFP, url, November 2017, url; EPIC, ISHM: September 17 – September 24, 24 September 2020, url

1700 Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, Kurdistan: Authorities should stop suppressing demonstrations, 25

November 2021, url; Rudaw, Non-contracted teachers from Duhok’s refugee camps protest, 2 November 2021, url;

Rudaw, At least 100 arrested in Duhok ahead of protest against government wage delays: lawmaker, 16 May 2020, url

1701 UNOCHA, Iraq: 2021 Humanitarian Needs Overview, 7 February 2021, url, p.31

1702 Mercadier, S., Turkish Incursion Wreaks Havoc in Iraqi Kurdistan, Orient XXI, 1 December 2020, url

1703 EUAA analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, ACLED Data Export Tool, Iraq, 1 August 2020 - 31 October 2021, url; The analysis was carried out by y filtering out the events containing the search terms ‘road’

and ‘checkpoint’ in the ‘notes’-column of the data sheet. Please note that his methodology might underreport the number of road incidents since security incidents linked to bombings or battles might potentially implicitly affect road security.

1704 Abdullah, F. H., PUK–KDP Conflict: Future Kurdish Status in Kirkuk, May 2018, url, p. 3

1705 International Crisis Group, Iraq: Fixing Security in Kirkuk, 15 June 2020, url, p. 1

1706 IOM, Integrated Location Assessment Part II – Governorate Profiles, October 2017, url, p. 38