\n Despite repeated promises by the governments of Haider al-Abadi, Adel Abdul Mahdi, Mustafa al-Kadhimi and Mohammed Shia al-Sudani to return them, none of those promises has been fulfilled.[Getty]<\/p>\n
The local government of Babil province, south of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, announced on Monday, 24 August, that it had changed the name of Jurf Al-Sakhr, a town controlled by Iran-aligned militias, to “Al-Nasr City”.<\/p>\n
The decision came after weeks of growing political and rights demands in Iraq for the return of tens of thousands of residents displaced from the town and living in displacement camps for more than 12 years.<\/p>\n
The local government, headed by the Asaib Ahl al-Haq group led by Qais al-Khazali,<\/a> responded to the demands with legal action and rejected calls to restore the area to its previous state amid the influence of armed factions over local decision-making in the province.<\/p>\n A statement from the Babil Provincial Council said it had voted to change the name of Jurf Al-Sakhr to “Al-Nasr City”, claiming that the vote “came in appreciation of and loyalty to the blood of the martyrs and their great sacrifices in defending the homeland and holy sites”.<\/p>\n The decision to change the name comes as controversy has again emerged over the situation in Jurf Al-Sakhr district, about 60 kilometres south of Baghdad.<\/p>\n Iraqi forces and armed factions regained control of the area from Islamic State in October 2014, <\/a>before armed militias, most notably Hezbollah Brigades, took control of it and prevented its residents from returning ever since.<\/p>\n Adnan al-Janabi, a sheikh of the Janabi tribe, had called for displaced people to return to their areas, describing what happened on 25 Oct. 2014 as an “occupation” rather than a “liberation”.<\/p>\n He spoke of the demolition of thousands of homes and “killing, looting and enforced disappearance”, as well as the continued prevention of residents from accessing their land and property.<\/p>\n The comments prompted responses from parties and factions in Babil.<\/p>\n The Babil Provincial Council said al-Janabi’s comments contained “an insult to the council and inaccurate facts that could stir discord and incite public opinion”.<\/p>\n As a result, a lawsuit was filed against him before the Hilla Investigative Court.<\/p>\n Babil Gov. Ali Turki al-Jamali also ruled out the return of displaced people in comments, claiming that the land had been subject to expired government agricultural contracts.<\/p>\n The New Arab spoke to several displaced residents of the town living in neighbourhoods near Jurf Al-Sakhr.<\/p>\n They argued that changing the name of the city is an attempt “to erase its history and existence” and “prevent its residents from returning”, by those factions, militias and non-Iraqi groups that have offices and headquarters inside Jurf Al-Sakhr.<\/p>\n Changing the name will not make any difference in Iraqi memory, as the displaced and forcibly uprooted people from it will not abandon their right, the residents added.<\/p>\n One of displaced residents, who currently lives about seven kilometres from his home in Jurf Al-Sakhr, said that “changing the name of our area means nothing to us, because it will remain Jurf Al-Sakhr, and the occupied lands and orchards will remain our lands, and we will continue to demand them”.<\/p>\n “Ali al-Zaidi’s government is required to open the area and instruct its displaced residents to return to it, and the settlement projects being carried out by armed groups there will not succeed because the right is on our side,” he told TNA.<\/p>\n He stressed, as a member of the Janabi tribe, that “changing the name is a provocative act against the displaced residents of the city who want to return to their homes and lands”.<\/p>\n “The armed groups are behind it, having instructed and pressured parties in Babil to change the name as part of diluting the issue and ending the suffering of the residents,” he added. “Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi faces a test over opening the area and removing the armed groups from it”.<\/p>\n Earlier this month, Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi ordered the formation of a government committee to study the security and logistical situation in Jurf Al-Sakhr and to establish mechanisms for deploying regular security forces around the area<\/a> and at its entrances ahead of beginning the process of reclaiming it.<\/p>\n The process may coincide with the expiry of the deadline given to Iraqi factions to hand over their weapons at the end of September.<\/p>\n But a government source from Babil province said that “government attention towards Jurf Al-Sakhr is inconsistent, particularly as Al-Zaidi is not considering using force to open the area <\/a>but rather dialogue and understanding, especially in pushing towards restricting the factions’ weapons”.<\/p>\n