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Iraq

OCHA Iraq | Flash Update #5: Mosul Humanitarian Response, 1 March 2017 [EN/AR/KU]

Attachments

Situation overview:

On 19 February, Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) resumed military operations to retake western Mosul from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). There has been a significant increase in people displaced from western Mosul since ISF entered more densely populated neighbourhoods in the city’s south. As of 28 February, 176,566 people are currently displaced as a result of military operations in Mosul as a whole, signaling a new peak since hostilities began.

Humanitarian impact:

The humanitarian impact has been significant. Since the new offensive began, 28,400 people have been displaced from western Mosul, according to IOM. Since 25 February, approximately 4,000 people per day have been displaced, the highest sustained daily average of displacement since the start of the conflict. People are moving from neighbourhoods on the outskirts of western Mosul to Hammam al Alil, where security screening is undertaken. Following screening, people have been relocated to the Ministry of Migration and Displacement’s new emergency site in Hammam al Alil, emergency sites in Hajj Ali and Qayyarah Airstrip, and to Jad’ah camp. Jad’ah, Qayyarah Airstrip and Hajj Ali are now full. Site expansion and the upgrade of water and sanitation services is ongoing in many south Mosul camps, however some 8,660 fully-serviced plots for nearly 52,000 people are available in areas to the east and north of Mosul city. Serious concerns remain for the protection of an estimated 750,000-800,000 civilians in the west of the city, where food, water, medicine and fuel are running low. Given the narrow streets and high population density in western Mosul city, civilians are at great risk of being caught in crossfire, and infrastructure is likely to sustain damage.

Humanitarian response and coordination:

At the Hammam al Alil screening site, to support government assistance, humanitarian partners have distributed emergency response kits to all new arrivals, consisting of 12 kilograms of ready-to-eat food rations, a hygiene kit to last a family a week, 12 litres of bottled drinking water and a water container. Blankets are also distributed to all newly displaced families upon arrival at the screening site. Following security screening, newly-displaced people from western Mosul are relocated to camps and emergency sites. All people who have entered camps and emergency sites have been allocated a tented plot, and in Jad’ah, Hajj Ali, and Qayyarah Airstrip have also received basic household supplies. In the new Hammam al Alil camp, these household supplies will be distributed later today. Monthly food rations will be distributed to all newly displaced people in the coming days.

In eastern Mosul, ongoing humanitarian assistance is needed to provide food, water and health care. Since late January, humanitarian partners have been trucking 2.3 million litres of water per day into eastern neighbourhoods to supplement municipal supplies. Emergency response kits have been delivered to 1,000,000 people in eastern neighbourhoods and newly-retaken areas since operations began on 17 October.

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UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
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