On June 15, five days after the Islamic State (IS, formerly known as the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, or ISIS) occupied the Iraqi province of Ninevah, Baghdad International Airport was jammed with passengers. The worsening situation prompted families to flee Baghdad, especially after the armed group announced its desire to occupy the capital.

With the rapid fall of Ninevah, now in the hands of insurgents, Baghdad’s residents are voicing great fear that attacks will be launched on the capital. On June 15, after Muhammad Naeem shouted at an employee of Iraqi Airways because of a three-hour delay of his journey to Erbil, the employee responded, “We are facing increasing pressure, and there is nothing I can do.” Naeem's family members, who were very nervous, had to wait at the airport.

Naeem bought a small apartment in Erbil three years ago in anticipation of another civil war in Iraq — the previous one having ended in 2008. He hails from a Sunni family and fears the return of militias to the streets, especially after Shiite religious leader Ali al-Sistani issued a fatwa promoting “righteous jihad” to fight IS. In an interview with Al-Monitor, Naeem said this meant that the civil war had already started.

An employee in the Department of Statistics at the Ministry of Displacement and Migration in Baghdad said in an interview with Al-Monitor, “Work is degenerating to the worst [level], as internal and external migration has dramatically increased after the Mosul events. Turkey is the primary destination for those fleeing Iraq, followed by Jordan and Lebanon.”