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Iraq Situation: UNHCR Flash Update - 9 March 2017

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Iraq
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UNHCR
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KEY FIGURES

215,142 Iraqis currently internally displaced from Mosul and surrounding areas since military operations to retake the city began on 17 October 20161

27,541 core relief item (CRIs) kits distributed to families in camps, assisting some 165,000 IDPs from Mosul and surrounding areas

5,760 family plots currently occupied out of 12,497 family plots (for some 95,000 people) in UNHCR built camps ready to receive IDPs displaced from the Mosul corridor

3 million IDPs since January 20142 250,952 Iraqi refugees hosted by neighbouring countries in the region, and

14,486 Iraqis received in Al- Hol camp in Syria since 17 October 2016

POPULATION MOVEMENTS

Iraqi security forces (ISF) expect 40,000 individuals to flee Mosul in the next 48 hours.
Humanitarian actors expect that beyond the 48 hour period 20,000 individuals per day could continue to flee as the military offensive continues to re-take west Mosul. Hunger appears to be the main displacement trigger.

Over 283,000 people have been internally displaced from Mosul and surrounding areas since the military operations began on 17 October. The operation to retake west Mosul, which started on 19 February, has already displaced 57,000 people.

An estimated 68,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) have returned to their places of origin in and around Mosul.

SITUATION UPDATE Iraqi security forces (ISF) continue to advance toward the old city. ISF reportedly control nine neighbourhoods out of 45 in west Mosul.

Camp capacity south and east of Mosul is increasingly limited. Roughly 20,000 of the 40,000 people anticipated to flee the city in the next 24 hours will be transferred to camps east and north of the city. The other 20,000 people will reportedly be transferred by the military to the care of tribal leaders and to host communities south of Mosul.

Families fleeing Mosul transit in Hammam Al-Alil, 25 km south of the city, where they undergo security screening. Anticipating the need for overnight accommodation in case of large influxes, UNHCR created a transit center in Hammam Al-Alil with current capacity of up to 20,000 people. The centre will continue to expand as necessary.

If the rate of displacement continues at 20,000 individuals per day, currently operational camps in the south, east, and north of Mosul could be full by early next week. The Government of Iraq and the humanitarian community continue to work quickly to ensure adequate camp capacity. In a bid to ensure shelter space in camps for people fleeing Mosul, the central government has requested that all camps in the country beconsidered as potential shelter for the displaced.

UNHCR RESPONSE UPDATE

UNHCR can immediately accommodate in camps up to 28,000 people, with the capacity to accept up to an additional 90,000 people immediately thereafter. UNHCR is reviewing its camp capacity throughout Iraq to support the Government’s emergency decision that all camps in the country be used to shelter the displaced.

UNHCR has 95 tented halls, 30,000 tents warehoused with roughly 10,000 prepositioned, and NFI kits warehoused and pre-positioned to assist roughly 25,000 families/150,000 individuals. Stocks of blankets and plastic sheeting are available in much greater quantities therefore local procurement of cooking stoves and mattresses can expand the total number of kits if needed.

UNHCR has roughly 50,000 emergency shelter kits to support an out-of-camp response or to supplement shelter space in and around camps.
In Syria, UNHCR is quickly expanding the existing Al-Hol camp to accept up to an additional 19,000 people.

UNHCR’s appeal for funds for the Iraq situation is severely under-funded, and a special alert is expected to be dispatched for an immediate appeal of 37 million USD to address immediate needs related to events in Mosul.