ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – A delegation of doctors from the Global Surgical and Medical Support Group (GSMSG) arrived in the capital of the semi-autonomous Kurdish region on Saturday to discuss their delivery of voluntary medical services to displaced people in the Kurdistan Region.

On Sunday, they met with the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region, Nechirvan Barzani, in Erbil.

The delegates are specialists and surgeons that seek to provide medical services to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in camps, according to Prime Minister’s press office.

The office mentioned the delegates commended the role of the people of the Kurdistan Region in fighting the Islamic State (IS) and opening their arms to those displaced by the war. They also praised the sense of coexistence in the Kurdistan Region, stating that the reasons above were a driver to them opting to volunteer in the region and contribute humanitarian aid.

Barzani praised their contribution and shared the support of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to GSMSG's efforts.

Since the emergence of IS in 2014, over two million IDPs and refugees have fled to the Kurdistan Region, including Ezidis and Christians.

Currently, the Kurdistan Region is home to 1.4 million IDPs and refugees, with the KRG repeatedly calling on the international community to provide additional humanitarian assistance to the region.

As the security situation remains unstable in liberated areas and chronic lack of basic services, the KRG’s Joint Coordination Center (JCC) reported a second exodus, with many IDPs leaving their hometowns again to return to camps in the Kurdistan Region.

Editing by Nadia Riva