Highlights
• As of 3 July, there were 3.3 million people displaced and 777,918 returnees in Iraq, at least 47 per cent of whom are children under 18.
• Conflict escalated in Iraq in the first half of 2016. It is expected that needs will increase as military operations to take back ISIL-held areas continue. In May and June alone, more than 85,000 people, roughly 40,000 children, have been newly-displaced mainly within Anbar. With ongoing military operations the number of IDPs is expected to increase.
• UNICEF remains determined to reach the most in need, increasing its targets to reach 2 million people with access to safe water, 2.4 million children and families newly-displaced by conflict, provide 206,000 children with structured psychosocial support, and provide 650,000 children with access to learning support materials.
• As a result, UNICEF increases its 2016 Appeal to US$169 million to ensure the most vulnerable children continue to access emergency supplies, safe water, critical sanitation and hygiene, key health and nutrition support, education, and protection services, and to upscale interventions to serve newly-displaced populations.
• In June, the RRM Consortium co-led by UNICEF and WFP, distributed 20,388 RRM kits as an immediate response to 19,520 families benefiting 113,809 vulnerable people newly displaced by conflict. The majority of people reached were newly-displaced in Anbar.
Situation Overview & Humanitarian Needs
Since the end of May, more than 85,000 people have fled Fallujah and surrounding areas since the government launched military operations to retake Fallujah City. 1 With reportedly more than 20 per cent of the city destroyed, combined with the risk of unexploded remnants of war, the city remains unsafe for IDPs to return. Similarly, more than 30,000 people have fled to Makhmur from fighting in Ninewa of whom approximately 19,000 are housed in Debaga IDP camp, Erbil while 14,000 people were displaced from Shirqat town and surrounding areas in Salah al-Din, with some fleeing towards Kirkuk. With ongoing military operations the number of IDPs is expected to increase, as it is estimated that around 200,000 civilians remain in Shirqat city, under the control of non-state armed actors.
Since March 2016, more than 131,000 people have been displaced, mostly from and within Anbar governorate. While humanitarian assistance is being provided to displaced populations, protection remains the central concern. The rapid pace of displacements has further stretched response capacities that are already struggling to support more than 3.3 million IDPs across 105 districts. Many camps are operating beyond capacity, with families living in overcrowded conditions. Due to the ongoing violence, strict procedures for security screening remain operative with reports received of families being separated as boys and men are held for questioning. UNICEF is concerned that children remain vulnerable to family separation, exposure to Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) and grave violations of their rights such as the recent bombing which killed more than 295 people including children.