Greater assistance needed to help tackle Iraq's humanitarian crisis

The United Nations refugee agency has reported that Iraq will continue to need greater humanitarian assistance as the country's displacement crisis shows no sign of easing, with more than 3.4 million people displaced and ongoing conflict causing thousands more families to leave their homes in search of safety.

    The Director of the Middle East and North Africa Bureau (MENA) for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Amin Awad, visited Debaga camp in Makhmour district in KR-I, where more than six thousand newly displaced people have sought shelter and are living in overcrowded conditions. UNHCR is going to provide additional shelter for 550 families at a new tented camp set up by the agency at the football stadium.

    "As the Iraqi security forces continue their advance towards the Tigris river, civilians continue to flee their homes to avoid being caught up in military clashes. We anticipate that there could be up to 30,000 newly-displaced arriving in Makhmour in the next few weeks," warned Awad upon concluding a visit to Erbil and Basra.

    He said UNHCR is drawing up contingency plans to be able to prepare for the fresh displacements: "UNHCR will have to build additional capacity to receive displaced people, and we are surveying areas for possible location of new camps to shelter an additional 20,000 individuals." During talks in Erbil with the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government, Nechirvan Barzani, and other senior ministers, Awad acknowledged the generosity of the KR-I authorities in providing humanitarian assistance to both Syrian refugees and displaced Iraqis despite facing serious economic challenges. Around 98% of Syrian refugees in Iraq are living in the Kurdistan Region, in addition to more than one million Iraqis displaced due to conflict – a figure accounting for 25% of the population of KR-I.

Source: QNA