As operations to retake opposition-held areas in Ramadi and Fallujah continue, thousands of civilians are forced to flee their homes. “Aid agencies are struggling to provide assistance due to the sudden increase in newly displaced families from towns inside Anbar governorate,” NRC’s Area Manager in Baghdad, Anja Riiser says. NRC and other humanitarian actors present in the Anbar province are witnessing a sharp increase in the number of new arrivals to safe areas inside Anbar. According to NRC’s teams on the ground, more than 3,500 individuals have arrived during the last three days and thousands more are expected in the upcoming week. “The newly displaced people we meet are afraid and very tired, but at the same time relieved that…

When two children and a young woman were murdered by armed opposition groups in her hometown, near Mosul, in Iraq, Akhlas Yuhana Sqt (36) saw no other option than to flee with her family, leaving everything they knew and owned behind. One year later, however, life seems more promising for the newly appointed centre leader of NRC’s first mobile community centre in Iraq. “One of them was a little boy; he was only three years old. The other one was a young woman who was killed on her engagement day and the last one was my five year old cousin,” says Iraqi Christian, Akhlas. Her eyes seem distant as she recalls the day that changed their lives completely. As a…

Brief description of consortium structure and DRA The current humanitarian crisis in Iraq is affecting the lives of more than 8M people. People affected are Iraqi IDPs, host communities and Syrian refugees who have moved to or live in the geographical areas in which the Dutch NGOs are active with humanitarian programmes. In January 2015, an alliance of Dutch NGOs existing of 13 INGOs started a North Iraq Joint Humanitarian Response (NIJR) funded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) and is part of the Dutch Relief Alliance (DRA), to address the urgent and rapidly increasing humanitarian needs of the people in North Iraq. The proposed joint appeal was to cover basic life-saving support over a period of 12…

In the aftermath of the sudden and rapid advance of Daesh through central parts of Iraq in summer 2014, a humanitarian crisis of significant proportion remains. As Daesh continues to consolidate its control over western parts of the country, a counter-insurgency operation has been led by the government and other regional and international forces. Hundreds of thousands have fled their homes in three mass displacements, and more are expected to do so as efforts are made to retake cities and towns in the Anbar and Ninewa governorates. Displaced families have found safety in villages, towns and cities throughout the country, welcomed generously by communities and supported by the Government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). Whilst more than…

Rapid Assessment of Explosive Remnants of War (ERW) Contamination in Northern Ninewah Governorate While displaced persons fleeing violence may have to enter/transit areas of contamination pre-dating the current conflict, a safe return to places or origin formerly under IS control is also threatened by an increase in the type and scope of ERW contamination. In particular, IS‟s widespread use of victim operated improvised explosive devices (IEDs) is posing a threat to civilians and hampering a safe returns process to areas secured by the security forces. Thousands of people spontaneously returning to their home locations face the threat of injury and death due to contamination and damage resulting from the conflict. Additionally, with no systematically collected information on the extent of…

As Mercy Corps' three year Broadening Participation through Civil Society program comes to an end, Mercy Corps is pleased to share the results of our endline survey, which surveyed and analyzed the views of over 5,000 Iraqi citizens on the state of the country, civic participation and responsibility, formal and informal justice/governance systems, and the future of civil society in Iraq. The report summary can be found in English, Kurdish, and Arabic.