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U.N. Plans Ambitious Operation to Help Displaced Iraqis U.N. Plans Ambitious Operation to Help Displaced Iraqis
(6 days later)
GENEVA — As Kurdish and Iraqi forces backed by American jets battled to dislodge Islamic militants from areas around Mosul Dam in northern Iraq, the United Nations refugee agency said Tuesday that it was planning one of its biggest aid operations in recent years. GENEVA — As Kurdish and Iraqi forces backed by American jets battled to dislodge Islamic militants from areas around Mosul Dam in northern Iraq, the United Nations refugee agency said Tuesday that it was planning one of its biggest aid operations in recent years.
Citing “immense” humanitarian challenges in Iraq, the agency is coordinating an effort to deliver aid by air, land and sea to more than a half-million people driven from their homes by fighting in recent weeks.Citing “immense” humanitarian challenges in Iraq, the agency is coordinating an effort to deliver aid by air, land and sea to more than a half-million people driven from their homes by fighting in recent weeks.
A four-day airlift of supplies using Boeing 747s from the southern Jordanian town of Aqaba to Erbil in the Kurdish-held north of Iraq on Wednesday will be followed by truck convoys crossing the border from Turkey, Adrian Edwards, a spokesman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, told reporters in Geneva.A four-day airlift of supplies using Boeing 747s from the southern Jordanian town of Aqaba to Erbil in the Kurdish-held north of Iraq on Wednesday will be followed by truck convoys crossing the border from Turkey, Adrian Edwards, a spokesman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, told reporters in Geneva.
The operation is “one of the largest we have done and certainly the largest in quite a while,” he said.The operation is “one of the largest we have done and certainly the largest in quite a while,” he said.
The half-million people displaced by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria in northern Iraq in June is in addition to the 600,000 people that the refugee agency estimates to have fled fighting earlier in the year in Anbar Province, Mr. Edwards said.The half-million people displaced by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria in northern Iraq in June is in addition to the 600,000 people that the refugee agency estimates to have fled fighting earlier in the year in Anbar Province, Mr. Edwards said.
The United Nations estimates that around 200,000 Yazidis, a small religious minority, were driven from the Sinjar area amid reports of summary executions, abductions of women and children, and harsh punishment as ISIS forces took over the area. Most of the Yazidis made their way, often in harrowing circumstances, to northern Iraq, but around 11,000 took refuge in Syria, Mr. Edwards said.The United Nations estimates that around 200,000 Yazidis, a small religious minority, were driven from the Sinjar area amid reports of summary executions, abductions of women and children, and harsh punishment as ISIS forces took over the area. Most of the Yazidis made their way, often in harrowing circumstances, to northern Iraq, but around 11,000 took refuge in Syria, Mr. Edwards said.
With thousands of people living in unfinished buildings or cramming into schools and mosques, a priority of the aid effort is to provide tents and other basics for survival.With thousands of people living in unfinished buildings or cramming into schools and mosques, a priority of the aid effort is to provide tents and other basics for survival.
“Many are still coming to grips with the tragedy they’ve been through in recent weeks,” Mr. Edwards said.“Many are still coming to grips with the tragedy they’ve been through in recent weeks,” Mr. Edwards said.