Islamic Relief is continuing to provide essential humanitarian aid to vulnerable families forced from their homes by conflict in Iraq. An estimated 500,000 people in Ninewa were displaced when fighting broke out in June. Many moved elsewhere in the northern governorate, and large numbers of people headed to the Kurdistan region in search of safety. It is thought that families have been displaced to over 140 different locations – some as far south as Basra. Sinjar, a town north of Ninewa, has seen an influx of some 50,000 people. Most displaced families are sheltering in government buildings including a sports stadium, or in makeshift shelters with little protection from the elements. Many are without access to even basic services such…

Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) is currently assessing the situation and how to respond following the incident last week where Iraqi Christians were forced to flee Mosul after Islamist militants gave them the option of joining Islam, paying a fine, or "facing the sword”.The city of Mosul is now controlled by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). After taking over the city a message was read out in the mosques urging Christians to comply or leave the city. Christians who remained until this week had their doors marked, whilst families from many other faiths had already left in fear of segregation and punishment. It is reported that 25,000 Christians left the city which, for the first time in…

45 degrees, a shed and a few tents that can accommodate 3,000 Iraqi families, and massed in poor condition. This is the field of Bahrka, a few miles from Erbil, the capital of the autonomous region of Kurdistan, which has become the site of passage of Iraqis fleeing dall'ISIL conquered cities in the governorate of Nineveh, who expect to be able to grab a seat at one organized by the Government of air travel to the region of Najaf, south of the country: the families, I think all of Shi'ite, Sunni militants fleeing from Işil to seek shelter in Iraq's Shi'ite holy sites in the country, as Kerbala and Najaf. Their path is not so simple: before reaching the south…

In response to the influx of refugees into Iraqi Kurdistan following the advance of ISIS, Handicap International is expanding its emergency team, which has been working in the region to support Syrian refugees. The team’s first priority for the newly arrived Iraqi refugees is to identify the most vulnerable individuals, especially people with disabilities, to ensure they can access humanitarian aid. “When tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of people need food, shelter, and care, people with disabilities and older people need even more support because they can’t move around very easily and go out in search of assistance,” says Benedetta Di Cintio, Handicap International’s head of mission in Iraq. Di Cintio recently spent several days visiting displaced…

This past week, our team in Iraq distributed 5,000 hygiene kits to vulnerable displaced families in the Khanaqin region of Iraq. Since early June, conflict in Iraq has caused hundreds of thousands of Iraqis to flee their homes in search of safety. The sudden, large displacement of people has overwhelmed more stable regions. Official displacement camps are few and far between, so many families are taking shelter wherever they can: in schools, abandoned buildings, and tents.ennan, her husband, and her two young sons Ahmed and Mohammed received a hygiene kit in Aliawa camp. They were forced to flee their home in Jalula over two weeks ago. They left early in the morning, with no money for a taxi, in hopes…

We cannot think of a better place to watch the FIFA World Cup Final than at Khazir Camp for IDPs. RISE Foundation set up a projector and screen and the Barzani Foundation kindly lent us a generator. Thanks to all the volunteers who helped.