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Iraq: Mosul Humanitarian Response Situation Report No. 19 (30 January - 5 February 2017) [EN/AR/KU]

Countries
Iraq
Sources
OCHA
Publication date

Highlights

  • As of 5 February 2017, approximately 162,000 people were living in displacement due to the Mosul emergency. Over 190,000 people have been cumulatively displaced, and 30,000 people have returned to their homes.

  • Food, water and fuel are scarce in western Mosul, leading to negative coping mechanisms. It is highly likely that the humanitarian situation will continue to deteriorate as commercial supply routes remain cut off and stocks cannot be replenished.

  • Humanitarian access continues to expand, and partners reached people in need in the towns of Tilkeif and Tal Abta for the first time.

  • Almost 24,000 children are enrolled in informal educational programmes in tented schools in displacement sites.

Situation Overview

Following a decrease in hostilities since the Iraqi Security Forces retook eastern Mosul, the rate of displacement has slowed, and has remained relatively unchanged since 1 February. As of 5 February, 161,886 people are living in displacement; roughly the same number as on 29 January. Some small displacement movements are occurring out of northeastern neighbourhoods on the banks of the river as a result of indirect fire coming from the western bank, but return movements into the city from camps and emergency sites are currently more significant, with almost 4,800 people returning to their homes in eastern Mosul from Khazer and Hassansham camps between 27 January and 2 February.

While the humanitarian situation in eastern Mosul is improving, conditions in western Mosul continue to deteriorate, according to analysis undertaken in the second half of January. In eastern Mosul food security is compromised by low purchasing power rather than food availability: an unskilled labourer in eastern Mosul can purchase less than two thirds of the food he could purchase in Erbil.

According to the assessments, food is also available in the west although commercially available stocks are dwindling, and prices are almost double what they are in eastern Mosul, meaning that families in the west are consuming a decreasingly varied diet. Fresh produce is particularly scarce – especially fruit, vegetables and fish - and powdered milk, usually fed to babies under the age of 1, is almost completely unavailable. Lower income families are particularly badly hit. The lack of income opportunities is compromising people’s ability to meet household food needs, and has led to negative coping strategies.

The reports list the lack of drinking water and lack of fuel as the most significant needs. Safe drinking water is available for one to one-and-a-half hours every two to three days in northern and eastern neighbourhoods of the western part of the city, but some neighbourhoods in the south and west have no access to safe drinking water at all. Where available, the price of kerosene has increased eightfold, and the price of gas is fourteen times higher than in June 2014. Kerosene is now affordable by only the wealthiest families. Moreover, the electricity supply has reportedly been cut off for a number of weeks. The lack of fuel has led to many families burning wood, furniture, plastic and household rubbish to keep warm.

Concern for the wellbeing of civilians trapped in western Mosul remains high amongst the humanitarian community. In anticipation of of the military operations to retake the west, humanitarian partners are working closely with the Government to prepare for the humanitarian scenarios that are likely to ensue. Camps and emergency sites are being prepared to shelter people fleeing when military operations recommence.

Educational opportunities for children displaced from Mosul and in returnee communities in the east of the city continue to expand. Almost 24,000 children in displacement sites and camps are enrolled in informal education programmes in tented schools in displacement sites and camps. The Ninewa Directorate of Education has enrolled 100,000 children in their programmes, who will return to school as soon as schools can reopen, and 70 schools in east Mosul are re-registering children through the ‘Back to School’ campaign. Infrastructural damage sustained during the fighting and the presence of explosive remnants in school grounds are significant factors delaying the reopening of schools in eastern Mosul and newly-retaken areas.

Access continues to expand, and during the reporting period humanitarian partners have reached people in Tilkeif, 20 km northeast of Mosul, and Tal Abta, roughly 80 km to the west, for the first time. Multi-sectoral assistance was delivered to over 16,400 people (2,500 families) in Tal Abta, including water, hygiene and sanitation supplies, household items and winter clothes.

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs: To learn more about OCHA's activities, please visit https://www.unocha.org/.