Aid expert: 'New roadblocks' emerge in Iraq after Islamic State defeat
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ERBIL - The war against Islamic State in Iraq may soon be over but providing humanitarian aid to Iraqis is becoming more difficult as new political and cultural divides open up, the secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) said.
Jan Egeland also warned that members of the international coalition which helped Baghdad in its three-year campaign against Islamic State could now drastically reduce their humanitarian budget for Iraq following the militants' defeat.
More than 3 million people displaced by Islamic State-related violence in the last three years have still not returned home. A rift between the central government in Baghdad and the Kurds following a September referendum on independence has created a fresh wave of displacement.
"New political, cultural and sectarian divides seem to be popping up," Egeland told Reuters during a visit to Iraq. "There are too many cleavages in Iraq. We don't need more roadblocks and certainly not more violence."
