ReliefWeb

The most recent IOM Iraq Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM), released 18 June, now identifies more than 3 million internally displaced by violence across Iraq since January 2014. Many of the newly displaced fled their homes as a result of fighting between the Iraqi Security Forces and armed groups in Anbar and Salah al-Din governorates.

Preliminary IOM DTM emergency tracking data from Salah al-Din report over 16,000 individuals displaced from 14 to 25 June from the districts of Al Dujail, Balad, Samarra and Al Haweja.
Since the beginning of hostilities in Ramadi, Anbar, from 8 April through 22 June, over 290,000 Iraqis are reported to have been displaced from the city and its outskirts.

While most of the displaced in Iraq are living in private settings, such as rented houses or with host families, more than 638,000 IDPs reside in critical shelter arrangements, such as unfinished and abandoned buildings, informal settlements and religious buildings.

With temperatures in Iraq soaring to more than 40°C (104°F) during the day, hundreds of thousands of displaced families in Iraq are celebrating the holy month of Ramadan.

What would usually be a month filled with family visits, celebrations and community gatherings has been marred by violence for millions of displaced and conflict-affected Iraqis. Displaced beneficiaries report to IOM Iraq staff that they feel distressed to be far from their communities and families during this time.

IOM staff spoke with Ibrahim Khalaf at a recent non-food item kit distribution in Baghdad. Ibrahim was displaced in May with his family of four from the Ramadi area in Anbar governorate, “When we first arrived to Baghdad, we found a tent to live in. But we had nothing to put on the floor, so we were just sitting and sleeping in the dust. A mat to put down on the ground might not seem like much to most people, but to us, it is a thing that makes our situation a little less miserable.”