OCHA Flash Update Iraq Crisis – Anbar Displacement No. 7 | 28 April 2015

As of 28 April, the Government estimated 19,058 families (about 114,000 people) have been displaced from Ramadi District. Humanitarian partners put the figure at between 12,400 and 14,100 families, spread across Anbar, Baghdad, Babylon, Erbil, Diyala, Kerbala, Najaf, Sulaymaniyah, Salah alDin,Qadissiya, Muthanna and Wassit governorates.

The number of displaced from Ramadi is stabilizing. The Anbar Provincial Council reports cautious returns to some residential areas.

Qadissiya local authorities have authorized 100 newly displaced families from hot spot areas in Anbar Governorate to access Diwaniya City. Most families are sheltered in an informal settlement in Al Amin Quarter and are in urgent need for non-food items (NFIs) and WASH assistance. Najaf authorities are redirecting newly arriving families towards Baghdad, following the arrival of 600 IDP families over the past week.

The Anbar Provincial Council announced the re-opening of the Trebil border crossing between Jordan and Iraq, which had been closed following a suicide attack by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) on 25 April.

There are continued reports of casualties from shelling in Falluja between Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) and ISIL who currently hold the city. Due to credible information on planned attacks through suicide bombers and mortar shells, southeastern Falluja is currently under curfew.

The Government has reported that the Thar Thar dam in Anbar Governorate, over which ISIL had seized partial control of over the weekend, has been secured. Specialist engineers deactivated 95 explosive devices at the site.

Insecurity in the area of al Baghdadi Sub-district has delayed the transportation of food, and medical supplies from the World Food Programme (WFP), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to both al Baghdadi and Haditha District. Control of roads toward al Baghdadi continues to shift between ISF and ISIL. Shortages in food supplies, particularly for infants, have been reported from Haditha District.