Voldsomme kampe mellem Iraks militær og islamistiske militser har drevet 70.000 på flugt i Anbar-provinsen i landets vestlige del. De mange flygtningen presser bl.a. den kurdiske del af Irak, der allerede huser 200.000 flygtninge fra Syrien.
DUBAI, 20. januar 2014 (IRIN): More than 70 people have died and a further 260 have been injured during three weeks of fighting between Islamist militants, sectarian factions and government forces in the western Iraqi province of Anbar.
The United Nations believes that as many as 70,000 people have been displaced since the violence erupted at the turn of the year, but all these numbers are “most likely an under-estimate”, warns a report (se link under artiklen) on the situation published on 18 January.
According to this latest UN report, fuel shortages are growing, food prices are rising, and health care facilities are coming under increasing pressure from the hike in injuries and are short-staffed and rapidly running out of medicines.
“The capacity to adequately and rapidly respond to the increased needs has been overwhelmed by the task at hand,” the World Health Organization (WHO) representative to Iraq, Syed Jaffar Hussain, said in a statement.
“Anbar Governorate has experienced in the recent weeks a surge of violence and armed conflict that increased the health needs not only for the displaced population but also for the host communities, where the few health facilities that are still working are no longer able to provide even lifesaving interventions,” the statement said.
“There is an increasing number of patients suffering from injuries which, if not treated, will lead to irreversible damage,” Hussain added.
Heavy shelling under helicopter cover has been reported, particularly in the cities of Ramadi and Fallujah, but also in the villages in between. Police stations have been raided and prisoners freed, and government buildings have been set on fire.
Aid delivery
Humanitarian appraisals are ongoing in order to track the exact numbers, locations and needs of the displaced families, who are have scattered throughout Anbar, Iraq’s largest province, and into neighbouring Salah-Al-Din, Kerbala, Baghdad and Najaf.
Out of the 70,000 displaced people, an estimated 14,000 have crossed into the semi-autonomous Kurdish north of the country, creating a fresh headache for the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), which is already hosting some 200,000 refugees from Syria.
A detailed assessment is due to be submitted to the UN’s Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in the coming days and additional funding may be required to cover the cost of the response.
Health officials fear the fighting will disrupt a planned polio immunization campaign, a major concern given the province’s long and porous border with Syria, where the virus has recently been identified for the first time since 1999.
Fabio Forgione, head of mission in Iraq for Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), which supports hospitals in Kirkuk and Hawija, to the north of Anbar, said they were concerned by the unfolding situation there.
“MSF presently does not have teams or medical activities in Anbar Province, however we are closely monitoring the evolutions of the situation and its potential medical consequences,” he told IRIN.
Læs resten af artiklen PÅ IRIN.
Download rapporten Situation Report: Anbar Humanitarian Crisis (PDF, 4 sider)
