Iraq HAR062303

June 23, 2003

Note: This report has been compiled from publicly available information. Although information has been gathered from reliable sources the currency and completeness of the information reported herein is subject to change and cannot be guaranteed. Inquiries, updates and comments are welcome and should be directed to PDMIN team at [email protected].

1 Routes for Humanitarian Aid

Country Supply Routes Supply Routes Comments From: To: Iskenderun (port) Turkey Mersin (port) North Open for humanitarian supplies Silopi Bandar Imam Khomeni (Port) South Open for humanitarian supplies Iran Ahwaz Kermanshah Northeast Open for humanitarian supplies Shipping Iraq South, Central Accommodates shallow-draft vessels Umm Qasr (port) Open for humanitarian supplies; also Kuwait Kuwait City (port) South, Central military use Aqaba (port) Jordan Central Open for humanitarian supplies Ar Ruwayshid Latakia (port) Central Abu Kamal Tartus (port) Syria Beirut, Lebanon (port) Central Open for humanitarian supplies Al Tanf Al Yarubiyeh North Open for humanitarian supplies

2 Overview

Today’s Highlights

Humanitarian Situation: Continued concern about security, increasing attacks on coalition, sabotage, key infrastructure, and unemployment/unpaid salaries; Power and water supplies improving slowly; Waste and related diseases remain concerns; Nationwide food distribution proceeding smoothly;

Political: Secretary General Kofi Annan reports UN and coalition working together; Annan, Special Representative of the Secretary General in Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello, US Secretary of State Colin Powell, Coalition Civil Administrator L. Paul Bremer, and an Iraqi delegation all attend World Economic Forum in Jordan;

UN: UN launches appeal for additional US$259 million to cover Iraq needs for next six months; Senior UN agency representatives meet in New York to review humanitarian situation; UN Development Program (UNDP) Administrator Mark Malloch Brown to hold an information-sharing and planning meeting June 24;

Refugees: UN reports satisfactory situations in the refugee camps inside Iraq; CARE reports thousands of long-term Palestinian residents displaced in Baghdad out of roughly 40,000 IDPs in the city;

Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs): The Secretary General’s Representative on Internally Displaced Persons, Francis Deng, suggests three initiatives—rebuilding and demining Kurdish villages in the north, allowing the displaced to reclaim their property in Kirkuk while being fair to the 200,000 Arabs who have resettled there, and working to restore the marshes and compensate the Marsh Arabs;

Civil Society/Rule of Law: Coalition Civil Administrator Bremer emphasizes need for security as prerequisite for recovery; Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch emphasize human rights; Coalition to pay disestablished Iraqi military starting in July and will start building new infantry unit next week;

Civil–Military Interaction: Coalition sweeps, security incidents and hostile activities continue; Coalition troops continue to be killed in small-scale incidents;

Humanitarian Access to Iraq: Supplies and personnel entering by land from Turkey, Iran, Kuwait, Jordan and Syrian with no significant bottlenecks or delays; Supplies also arriving from Persian Gulf in shallow-draft vessels via port of Umm Qasr; Humanitarian flights becoming more commonplace;

Economy: In addition to looting, pipeline sabotage is becoming a limiting factor—actual oil production lower than anticipated—may take 18 months to reach pre-conflict capacity of 3 million barrels a day;

Water/power: Water capacity improving and meeting about half of demand; Power generation is meeting about 60% of demand with mid-summer goal of 80%; Production of petroleum products increasing slowly—meeting about 50% of gasoline needs;

Food: Over 900,000 MT of food brought into Iraq; Main challenge is security of warehouses and silos; Additional commodities now being distributed after wheat flour; Good crops of wheat and barley currently being harvested and paid for by Oil-for-Food funds;

3 Health and Medical: Health system is improving slowly, but still vulnerable; Distribution and disease assessment systems being revitalized; Health situation assessed as precarious until health infrastructure is much more robust; Most uranium accounted for at looted plant outside Baghdad;

Note: New content has been inserted in red, italicized, bold font. In Country Humanitarian Assistance Preparations

North Region

Erbil, Dahuk, Salaymaniyah Coordinator UN Office of the Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq (UOHCI) is aware of 36 NGOs in northern Iraq Affected Population IDP Movement Food Food distribution is at pre-conflict levels Health In Dahuk, all hospitals are functioning normally NFIs –Shelter Water & All water projects in urban and semi-urban areas in Erbil are functioning properly Sanitation Security Sporadic shootings continue in Erbil; The road between Kirkuk and Sulaymaniyah is safe again for use Other/Comments Power in Dahuk has been restored; Electric power is available for 20-22 hours per day in Erbil; Telephone services were restored between Dahuk and Mosul

Kirkuk (Attamin), Mosul (Ninewa), Tikrit (Salahaddin) Coordinator Affected Population IDP Movement According to local leaders in Ninewa, over 300 Arab families have been displaced by Kurdish families under the protection of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (PDK) Food Food distributions are proceeding in Kirkuk and Mosul, with distribution of approximately 40-50% of wheat flour and other commodities completed Health NFIs –Shelter Water & A UN Security Assessment Mission to Mosul reported that the water and health Sanitation systems are in relatively good condition with facilities unaffected by looting, but the sanitation system remains a concern; 70% of Tikrit is connected to the sewage system and water is also available; Mercy Corps is providing water test equipment to Kirkuk to monitor the water quality and vehicles to water department staff Security ICRC reports that the security situation in Kirkuk is relatively calm, but the roads from Kirkuk to Mosul and Tikrit are unsafe; Mosul is calm during the day, but looting and thefts continue at night Other/Comments The Mosul airport replaces Erbil’s airport as the northern destination for Boeing-737 landings; Passenger flights to Mosul are available on Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays; The Office of the Coalition Provisional Authority (OCPA) reported that an additional airport 25 miles south of Mosul will soon be operational Note: This report has been compiled from publicly available information. Although information has been gathered from reliable sources the currency and completeness of the information reported herein is subject to change and cannot be guaranteed. Inquiries, updates and comments are welcome and should be directed to PDMIN team at [email protected].

4 Central/West Regions

An explosion near Hit, 90 miles northwest of Baghdad, damaged a gas pipeline on Saturday (June 21). An Iraqi Oil Ministry official said that the damaged pipeline would disrupt power generation and that it would take three to five days to repair. There were no reports of injuries as a result of the explosion.

Anbar, Salahaddin, Diyala, Karbala, Babil, Wasit, Najaf, Qadissiya Coordinator Affected Population IDP Movement The USAID Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) is reviewing refugee repatriation issues with local leaders, NGOs, and WFP in Anbar, Babil, Karbala, Najaf, Wasit, and Al Mathanna in preparation for the possible repatriation to Iraq of up to 1.3 million Iraqi refugees who have been living in Iran since the end of the 1991 Gulf War Food The handover of commodities from WFP to the Ministry of Trade has been completed in Babil, Karbala, Najaf, Qadissiya, and Wasit Health The Humanitarian Operations Center (HOC) reports that Najaf Hospital is operational; The Amara General Hospital is back to its normal level of activity; International Rescue Committee (IRC) is supporting seven primary health centers in Najaf; The Humanitarian Assistance Coordination Center (HACC) reports that the Babil Governorate Support Team is working with the Ministry of Health to establish a dental hygiene program and is seeking assistance from any organization that can provide dental kits for local school children NFIs –Shelter World Vision is delivering more than 3,600 relief packages to residents of Ar Rutbah containing clothing, blankets, plastic sheeting, and water containers Water & The Humanitarian Operations Center (HOC) reports that water treatments plants are Sanitation operating at 75% of capacity in Hillah Security WFP reports it is not able to send staff to Salahaddin or Diyala due to security restrictions; There has been a trend of attacks against the coalition from the Fallujah to Ramadi area; The rate of attacks on Highway 1 from Baghdad to Mosul remains particularly high Other/Comments Power to Ar Rutbah has been restored and piped water is slowly returning

5 Baghdad

One US soldier was killed and another wounded in a rocket-propelled grenade attack in Khan Azad, 12 miles south of Baghdad, on Sunday, June 22.

Baghdad Coordinator UNOCHI is aware of 40 NGOs operating in Baghdad Affected Population: 5.8 million Population IDP Movement An IDP working group has been established to coordinate a response to a reported total of 3,000 families in Baghdad who have been displaced Food The Ministry of Trade reports that 60% of food agents under the Public Distribution System (PDS) to date have picked up food rations for distribution to more than 3 million people in Baghdad Health UNICEF reports that 60% of child immunization sites in Baghdad are functioning and that its campaign to immunize children who have not been immunized since the start of the conflict, is expected to begin in late June; ICRC has delivered enough food for one month to several Baghdad hospitals NFIs –Shelter Water & UN Office of the Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq reported that there is adequate Sanitation water available for Baghdad residents; UNICEF is working to repair blocked sewage drains, and rehabilitate sewage pumping stations and water units; UNICEF is continuing to distribute up to 264,250 gallons per day to certain areas in Baghdad using water trucks Security The crime rate is still high in Baghdad, although the incidence of night shootings has decreased; Most attacks against coalition forces take place on the west bank of the Tigris River and near the Mansour area; NGOs are unable to enter several areas of Baghdad without armed military escort while some districts of Baghdad, such as Tawra in the northeast, are completely off-limits; Organized attacks continue on vehicles traveling on highway 10 between Baghdad and the Jordanian border; WFP has withdrawn its staff from the Al-Hurriyah warehouse in Baghdad due to poor security; The curfew implemented by the coalition is still in place form 11pm to 5:30am; There have been several incidents involving mines and attacks on the Baghdad Airport road and the Baghdad-Ramadi road Other/Comments Baghdad Airport will open a new passenger terminal within a week to improve passenger flow; The target date for the reopening of the Baghdad International Airport for commercial operations has been pushed back two weeks to July 1; According to Reuters, telephone services for most residents in Baghdad are not functioning as landlines and cellular telephone networks have still not been repaired; The UN has reported that Baghdad is receiving about 50-60% of electricity demand, compared with about 40% before the conflict, however blackouts are still frequent; Gasoline availability in Baghdad exceeds pre-conflict levels

6 South Region

Basrah

Umm Qasr, Basrah Coordinator Affected Population of Basrah: 1.5 million Population IDP Movement Assessments indicated that 612 IDPs are in Basrah Food Health To date there have been 68 confirmed cases of cholera in Basrah governorate and 1,549 cases of acute diarrhea, mostly among children under 5; Hospitals in Basra are facing an acute shortage of oxygen NFIs –Shelter Water & UNICEF is aiming to bring in up to 100 trucks carrying about 990,937 gallons of Sanitation water per day in an effort to prevent a more serious cholera outbreak in Basrah; Security The UN has tightened security restrictions on travel in southern Iraq and now requires at least four vehicles in a convoy and a minimum two persons per vehicle; Night shootings have been reported, as well as armed clashes between rival gangs; The Office of the UN Security Coordinator (UNSECOORD) advises humanitarian workers to avoid the areas of Basrah Al Qadimah and Al Hayyaniyah; Arrangements are underway at the Umm Qasr Port to train Iraqi veterans to guard the port against looting, which has increased over the past week Other/Comments Electricity has been restored to about 60% of pre-war levels; The Umm Qasr port was officially opened for commercial freight on June 16, with priority given to vessels carrying humanitarian, reconstruction, and military cargo

Al Muthanna, Nassiriyah, Dhi Qar, Amarah, Maysan Coordinator UNOHCI is aware of 22 NGOs operating in southern Iraq Affected Population IDP Movement Food Health The Humanitarian Assistance Coordination Center (HACC) is seeking organizations who can provide seeds, herbicides, and pesticides, as well as spare parts and instructions on how to operate and repair irrigation pumps in Al Muthanna NFIs –Shelter Water & OXFAM is supporting the water and sewage department in Nassiriyah city under its Sanitation rapid repair program, repairing leaks and breakages along the main pipe network Security Drug and arms trafficking has increased, especially in Amarah; Five WFP trucks have been hijacked in recent days between Safwan (Basrah) and Nassiriyah Other/Comments

Neighboring Countries’ Humanitarian Activities/Preparations

7 Jordan

The Government of Jordan has stated that borders with Iraq are open for the flow of goods. The Humanitarian Assistance Coordination Center (HACC-West) has advised that it needs 24-hour advance notice of vehicle movement into Iraq from Jordan. Travel on this route in the short-term may be dangerous due to the threat of hijacking while on the road.

Many NGOs are shifting staff and supplies from Jordan into Iraq, especially Baghdad. All NGO staff intending to travel to Iraq should obtain a visa from the Iraqi Embassy in Amman.

As of June 2, there are 944 people staying at the Ruweished refugee camp, all of Palestinian origin. Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) has constructed latrines and is responsible for sanitation and solid waste management in the camp.

According to UNHCR, 1,278 people, mostly Iranian Kurds from the Al Tash refugee camp, are currently residing in no-man’s land at the Iraqi border with Jordan.

A Jordanian NGO will take the place of OXFAM to provide assistance to refugees at both the Karama refugee camp, located in no-man’s land, and the Ruweished refugee camp. UNHCR will manage public health issues in the camps.

Iran

The Bureau for Aliens and Foreign Immigrants Affairs (BAFIA) has stated that requests of convoys crossing the Iranian border could be processed within 24 hours, once the Ministry of Foreign Affairs provides clearance.

Turkey

The border with Turkey remains open to diplomatic and press missions only. Discussions are underway with the government of Turkey to open the border to enable returnees to go home.

As there have been no reports of refugees crossing into Turkey and requesting asylum as a result of the recent war, UNHCR has said it is scaling down its operations along the border between Turkey and Iraq in order to focus on relief efforts already underway in Iraq. Turkey has said it would continue assistance to Iraqi refugees who fled Iraq prior to the recent war and who now wish to return to Iraq. UNHCR said it could facilitate such repatriations, but could not guarantee the returnees’ safety upon return and thus would not encourage them to do so at this time. IOM is also scaling down their operations in Silopi, but said it would be ready to assist in the repatriation of Iraqis.

Kuwait

The Umm Qasr border is now closed for civilian traffic. Entry and exit of Iraq is possible only in Abdali. There have been reports that people moving in and out of Kuwait may be screened for infectious disease with a health center in Abdali now being reactivated for this purpose. The Humanitarian Operations Center (HOC) in Kuwait requests a maximum of 96 hours to issue a clearance to agencies to carry out cross-border operations. Humanitarian flights are now exempt of all landing and parking fees. The Government of Kuwait has issued a statement that it must be notified 24 hours in advance to issue approved legal passes.

8 The Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) has agreed that Iraqi refugees staying at the Rafha Camp since the first Gulf war will be the next group to be repatriated to Iraq with assistance from UNHCR. There are currently about 5,000 refugees, mostly men, living in the camp.

The HOC, originally scheduled to close on June 30, will now continue to operate until September 30, 2003.

Syria

The Government of Syria has granted UN agencies and IOM a number of exemptions for fees, taxes and levees related to the import/export of humanitarian transit cargo to Iraq. New border crossing procedures are improving cross border movements. UNICEF is encouraging the use of Syria as a corridor for entry of humanitarian aid into Iraq.

The Syrian Arab Red Crescent Society (SARC) is continuing operations at the Al Tanf and Al Bukamal transit camps on the border with Iraq. The Al Tanf camp is now empty while the Al Bukamal camp population continues to decline. SARC has asked the Syrian government to consider closing the camps and is awaiting a response.

Saudi Arabia

The Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (GoKSA) has issued a blanket authorization for overflight and landing for an unspecified period of time. These clearances apply to flights between Kuwait and Amman.