Iraq CRISIS Situation Report No. 27 (10 – 16 January 2015) This report is produced by OCHA Iraq in collaboration with humanitarian partners. It covers the period from 10 – 16 January 2015. Due to the rapidly changing situation it is possible that the numbers and locations listed in this report may no longer be accurate. The next report will be issued on or around 24 January 2015. Highlights • Over 2,000 new arrivals to Arbat Camp provided with cash, food, tents and non-food items amidst cold and wet conditions. The camp is now over-capacity, but an addition is planned • Two inter-agency missions deliver aid to 500 families in Dhuluiya, Salah al-Din after 7 months of ISIL siege • Over 800 families have been displaced from Makhmur District south west of Erbil Governorate • Kerosene distributions have started in Erbil, although still insufficient to cover needs • Protection actors concerned over reports of forced conscription in ISIL-held areas Situation Overview Over 340 families newly displaced by fighting in Salah al-Din Governorate arrived in Arbat IDP Camp in Sulaymaniyah Governorate at the end of last week. They were all provided with emergency cash assistance, registered and data was shared among partners. Humanitarian partners assisted the new arrivals amidst snow and sub-zero temperatures. Over 870 people received Immediate Response Rations (IRRs) on 10 January, 24 hours after having arrived at the camp. They were also provided with tents, core relief items, kerosene, cooking kits, blankets as well as hygiene kits, jerry cans for water, and winter clothes for infants and children. The general food distribution (family food basket) for this month was planned to start 14 January for all of Arbat IDP Camp with first priority given to the new IDPs. Arbat IDP Camp in Sulaymaniyah is now over capacity with 1,250 families (250 families beyond the originally planned capacity). The WASH Cluster had earlier warned that the facilities in the camp were not sufficient to meet the need. The lack of WASH facilities in new sections of Arbat IDP camp raises protection concerns for female residents in particular, who are required to walk long distances from their shelters. Protection and child protection actors have conducted rapid assessments on the specific protection needs of new arrivals to Arbat Camp, identifying a number of individuals in need of specific referrals and services. General protection gaps faced by the group include psychosocial support, particularly for children. There is also a pressing + For more information, see “background on the crisis” at the end of the report www.unocha.org The mission of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is to mobilize and coordinate effective and principled humanitarian action in partnership with national and international actors. Coordination Saves Lives Iraq IDP Crisis Situation Report No. 27 |2 need to conduct an assessment for education needs and child friendly spaces in the new locations and sectors in Arbat camp. Sulaymaniyah’s authorities have allocated 250,000 square metres of land for an expanded IDP camp near Arbat refugee camp. However, it will reportedly take two months to prepare the land for the camp. On 10 January, another wave of displacement of IDPs took place from the districts of Makhmur, Gayara and the surrounding villages, to Debagah Sub-District in Erbil Governorate. Currently around 800 families are living in mosques and a ceremony hall in Debagah in very challenging conditions. Displaced families reported that more families were on the way, possibly another 800. A joint assessment mission found a lack of basic items and services, including food, water, sanitation and medical facilities for the newly displaced. Protection, food and health actors have been mobilised to provide a timely response. The government and humanitarian partners have provided kerosene, non-food items and food. After seven months of siege on Dhuluiya, Salah al-Din Governorate, the small town was freed and the siege broken in late December. Hundreds of houses had been destroyed and thousands of people displaced, in addition to hundreds of IDP families that had been displaced from nearby villages. Shortages of food, medicines and non-food items (NFIs) were reported. Having regained access to Salah al-Din governorate for the first time since September, partners were able to respond quickly to the call for assistance. The first inter-agency convoy on 8 January to Dhuluiya delivered core relief items), water and hygiene items to 200 of the most vulnerable households. Five health kits were also delivered to the health centre. The second relief distribution, on 13 January, assisted 300 families with 300 core relief item kits, further IRRs and water bottle sets. In all, partners distributed IRRs to approximately 2,500 people in Dhuluiya. The Ministry of Displacement and Migration (MoDM), in coordination with the Erbil Refugee Council (ERC), has started distributing kerosene in Erbil. Currently they are distributing 50 litres / family, starting with those in informal settlements, the most vulnerable to the harsh winter conditions. Protection monitors in Kirkuk reported on 11 January that ISIL forces had stopped IDP families from Salah al-Din on their way from Riyadh to Kirkuk. They separated young men from their families and reportedly forcefully recruited them to fight on their side for the ‘Caliphate’. Media reports suggest that ISIL has also started forced recruitment of young men in Mosul for city security and frontline deployment. In Dahuk, the total camp population is now at only 60 per cent of total capacity. However, some large families have received two tents, so the actual capacity may be lower. Nevertheless, there is still space in Mamilian Camp for families in unfinished buildings that choose to move. From the over 600 informal settlements mapped in Dahuk by REACH in 2014, more than half have now been emptied as IDPs have moved to the camps. Authorities are discouraging humanitarians from implementing cash distributions to these sites (unfinished buildings), as they want to encourage people to move to camps where they have access to better services. Humanitarian Response Shelter and Non-Food items Needs: • NFIs are a priority need for IDPs in Dhuluiya (Salah al-Din Governorate) after seven months of ISIL siege. • Additional winterisation kits will be required for governorates currently receiving new influxes of IDPs (such as in Kirkuk). Response: • Kerosene: Distributions are ongoing. The government has distributed fuel to 24,240 IDP families, reaching around 7 per cent of the total number of IDP families throughout Iraq, that is 2,140 IDP families in the southern governorates (Muthanna, Qadissiya and Thi-Qar), over 6,400 IDP families in the central governorates (Babylon, Baghdad, Diyala, Najaf and Wassit) and over 15,700 IDP families in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KR-I) (Dahuk). In addition, cluster partners have distributed fuel to 34,750 families, reaching around 10 per cent of the total number of IDP families throughout Iraq, that is 10,050 IDP families in the central governorates (Diyala and Kirkuk) and over 24,700 IDP families in the KR-I (Dahuk, Erbil and Sulaymaniyah). Note that these figures are cumulative and include previous weeks. United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Coordination Saves Lives | www.unocha.org Iraq IDP Crisis Situation Report No. 27 |3 • NFIs: Partners have distributed winter items in the KR-I and south and central Iraq for pregnant mothers, newborn babies and women of reproductive age, including over 40,000 dignity kits, 500 winter baby sets and warm dresses, over 10,000 dishdasha for women and over 20,000 clean delivery kits for pregnant women (health). Distribution of these items is ongoing in over seven governorates • Shelter: o Cluster partners are planning to install more than 950 prefabricated shelters in several locations across Erbil Governorate (Harshm Camp, Baharka Camp, Shaqlawa Camp and others). o Tents in Harshm and Baharka camps (Erbil Governorate) are being replaced with prefabricated units donated by Taiwan (Republic of China). o The overall progress of shelter unit rehabilitation/construction in the four southern governorates is 77 per cent complete, amounting to over 270 shelters rehabilitated out of over 350 planned. In Basrah Governorate, 95 shelter units are planned, with 90 completed. The remaining 5 units are in progress and are expected to be completed by the end of next week. In Muthanna Governorate, more than 30 shelter units have been rehabilitated, amounting to 65 per cent of the target of over 50 shelters. Work is ongoing and will be completed by the end of January. In Thi-Qar Governorate, over 40 units have been completed out of the over 50 planned, whereas the work for the remaining over 10 units is at various stages of implementation and will be completed by the end of January. In Qadissiya Governorate, the rehabilitation of over 100 shelters out of a target of over 140 has been completed, while remaining work will also be completed by the end of January. Gaps & Constraints: • The Erbil Refugee Council (ERC) has asked the Emergency Cell in Baghdad to increase the amount of fuel per family from the current target of 50 litres. Food Security Response: • Humanitarian partners distributed Immediate Response Rations (IRRs) to over 1,140 displaced people in Muthanna Governorate who had been displaced by military operations in western Iraq. • WFP plans to assist over 1.3 million people with food rations and over 340,000 people with vouchers for the month of January. An NGO’s food voucher project has supported the urgent food needs of over 77,000 IDPs from about 102,000 IDPs (17,000 families) now living in various camps in Erbil Governorate’s three districts of Soran, Shaklawa and Erbil.