Iraq Situation: UNHCR Flash Update - 31 August 2017

Key figures

• 833,892 Internally displaced Iraqis verified as being currently displaced from Mosul and surrounding areas since military operations to retake the city began on 17 October 20161

• 657,500 IDPs, returnees and members of the host community from Mosul and surrounding areas assisted by UNHCR since 17 October 2016.

• 345,023 Individuals (72,454 households) impacted by military operations to retake Mosul since October 2016 are currently enrolled in ASSIST, UNHCR’s assistance tracking tool,

• 3.2 million IDPs since January 20142 257,476 Iraqi refugees hosted in countries in the region, and 22,535 Iraqis received in camps in Hassakeh, Syria since 17 October 2016

Funding

• USD 578 million requested for IDPs and Iraqi refugees in the region in 2017

Population movements

Violence in Telafar and lack of income in Mosul are reportedly pushing an increasing number of families to move to camps. For the third week in a row, new arrivals outpaced new departures in camps, resulting in a four to five per cent overall population increase in camps around Mosul. Internally displaced persons (IDPs) come from Mosul and Telafar districts, in Ninewa Governorate. Most new arrivals from Mosul interviewed by UNHCR and its protection partner report originally coming from the west bank of the city. They have been displaced several times, usually within east Mosul, before moving to camps east of Mosul or, more recently, to Nimrud camp (south of Mosul) which opened on 26 August. Economic reasons, namely lack of sustainable income, were consistently mentioned by new arrivals from Mosul: 95 per cent of interviewees say they left the city to camps because they could not afford housing or sustain themselves in Mosul. Lack of food, water, and insecurity are the main reasons mentioned by new arrivals from Telafar. A little over 331,000 IDPs are currently sheltered in camps around Mosul.

Situation update

Military operations in Telafar are ongoing. Iraqi Forces retook most of the district. Fighting continues in the last sub-district still under extremist groups’ control in Telafar, in north-west Ninewa Governorate.

Services and infrastructure improve in east Mosul. Drinking water and electricity still not restored in the west of the city. Returnees interviewed by UNHCR and its protection partners report that water, electricity, hospitals, and schools are now widely available in east Mosul. In the west of the city, however, returnees report that public electricity and water are still not restored. In most of west Mosul, families who returned say they have to purchase drinking water. Families with limited income or savings also shared that they could afford the cost of the private generators in west Mosul, which means that a number of families do not have access to electricity at all.