‘The city is destroyed’: Baiji was home to Iraq’s largest oil refinery but two years after IS left it’s a ghost town
The level of devastation in Baiji is among the worst left behind after Baghdad’s punishing campaign to reclaim its towns and cities from the grip of jihadists
A white rocking horse and a child’s toy car lie abandoned on a dusty lane in the Iraqi city of Baiji, a small sign of the ruin that can be seen all around.
Two years after the jihadists of Islamic State (IS) were forced from this one-time industrial hub, Baiji remains a devastated ghost city as pledges of funds to help rebuild life have failed to materialise.
Home to what was once Iraq’s biggest oil refinery, its rubble-strewn streets are lined by the twisted carcasses of buildings, and in 2016 it was declared a disaster zone by the national parliament.
“Up until now there has been no money to reconstruct the town despite the promises made by Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi,” said Khaled Hassan Mahdi, a member of the regional council.
Instead, Mahdi said, all available funds have gone into financing Iraq’s military campaign against IS, which Hadi declared defeated after three years of brutal fighting.
There has been no money to reconstruct the town despite the promises made by Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi
“And even if the ministries unblock the money, it will only go to restoring infrastructure, water, roads, electricity, but not pay benefits to people or give them aid to rebuild their homes,” he said.