Iraq - The fall of Mosul – Iraq’s second city – to Armed Opposition Groups (AOGs) this week displaced an estimated half a million people. IOM is now racing to procure and distribute urgently needed relief, not only to the affected population of Mosul, but also to thousands of other internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the Anbar governorate cities of Fallujah, Ramadi and Heet, which have borne the brunt of the fighting over the past six months. “Insecurity is spreading across the whole of Iraq and we foresee a protracted humanitarian crisis,” said Mandie Alexander, IOM’s emergency coordinator in Baghdad. “It is getting worse by the hour and we do not have the necessary funding to respond adequately,” she added.…

Hundreds of thousands of people are fleeing threats and fighting in Iraq. “The situation is deteriorating every hour and threatens to throw Iraq into a complicated and dangerous sectarian conflict. We need to be prepared for significantly higher numbers of people displaced”, warns Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council Jan Egeland. NRC is scaling up relief in Northern and Western Iraq. The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has estimated that about 500.000 people have been displaced in and from Ninewa Province, after armed opposition groups seized control over Iraq´s second largest city Mosul. Since then armed opposition groups have attacked several large cities in Iraq and now control large parts of North and Western Iraq. 480.000 people had been…

Thousands of children are benefitting from an ambitious Islamic Relief Iraq project, which is improving access to quality secondary school education. During the Iraq war, over 4,700 public schools were damaged or destroyed – increasing the challenges for an already strained education system. The project – which began last year – is working with five schools which have seen a considerable increase in drop-out rates over the past three years. Four schools are benefitting in the capital, Baghdad, where students continue to be affected by armed conflict as well as influxes of displaced families. The scheme also targets a school for girls in Erbil, regional capital of Iraqi-Kurdistan - a region which faces strain as families that have fled their…

An estimated half a million people have fled Iraq's second biggest city, Mosul, after it was seized early on Tuesday. The city had a population of almost two million before the mass exodus of its inhabitants. Of those displaced, 300,000 have fled to the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI). In response, ACTED is distributing non-food items in Khabat to those who are crossing over from Iraq to KRI, with the support of UNHCR and in co-ordination with other humanitarian organizations. Their aid efforts rely on up-to-date information from REACH, who have been tracking and mapping the displacement and needs of Iraqis from Mosul. According to figures from authorities, 100,000 people have crossed to Erbil using 16,000 cars and 200,000 have…

The escalation of violence and unrest in the city of Mosul, northern Iraq and in other areas has forced thousands of families to flee their homes. The Iraqi Red Crescent Society immediately responded and activated an operations room to provide food aid and tents for the families displaced from Mosul to the northern provinces. According to the Iraqi Red Crescent Society, more than 32,000 displaced people from Mosul had to sleep in the open near the borders of Kurdistan region of Iraq. The Assistant to the Secretary General of the Iraqi Red Crescent Society, Mohammad Alkhozai said: “The Iraqi Red Crescent operations room was formed from six provinces as we mobilized all our resources to assist the displaced families. We…

Harikar did not forget its role in bringing joy and happiness to the Syrian refugee children who suffer from the devastating life circumstances and made them feel home and safe in their day. This joy came ahead for the refugee children and parents through reviving the International Children's Day in each Domiz, Akre camps and in urban area. The organizing team gathered children and gave chance to many of them to participate in the activities. In Domiz Camp, Harikar's WLC organized some entertaining activities with ACTED Organization and Kulilk Center, for the refugee children. These activities were short comedy and educational plays that intended to give joy and awareness to the children. The organizing teams called for 50 disabled children…