Date: Wed, 16 Aug 95 15:42:52 EDT
From: incident@vita.org (Emergency Information Administrator)
Subject: Northern Iraq: Displaced Persons OFDA-04
U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
BUREAU FOR HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE
OFFICE OF U.S. FOREIGN DISASTER ASSISTANCE (OFDA)
NORTHERN IRAQ - Displaced Persons
Situation Report #4 (FY 1995) August 11, 1995
Note: The last situation report was dated April 26, 1995.
Background
For Iraqi citizens living in the three northern governorates (Dohuk,
Erbil, and As Sulaimaniya) and the rest of Iraq, humanitarian conditions
remain precarious. The Government of Iraq (GOI) continues to refuse to
comply with United Nations Security Council Resolutions (UNSCRs), which
were enacted in response to Iraqi aggression in Kuwait, its repression
of civilian populations inside Iraq, and Iraq's efforts to develop
weapons of mass destruction. In violation of UNSCR 688, which demands
the GOI afford immediate, unrestricted access by humanitarian workers to
all those in need of assistance, the GOI has harassed, threatened, and,
in some cases, killed relief workers, attacked relief convoys, as well
as diverted humanitarian aid to its own supporters. The GOI has also
refused to implement UNSCRs 706 and 712, which would allow Iraq the one-
time sale of oil to purchase food and other humanitarian goods. The
GOI's failure to take advantage of these provisions has significantly
contributed to a decline in health and socio-economic conditions among
the civilian population in Iraq. Given the GOI's failure to comply with
these and other UNSCRs, the U.N. has refused to lift economic sanctions
imposed by UNSCR 661 against the GOI, including a ban on all Iraqi
exports and imports, except for food, medicine, and other essential
needs of its population. On April 14, 1995, the U.N. Security Council
unanimously adopted Resolution 986, which offered the GOI another
opportunity to export a limited amount of oil in order to finance the
purchase of humanitarian goods for northern Iraq. It was summarily
ignored by the GOI as an interference in Iraqi domestic politics.
Since 1991, the GOI has imposed an embargo on the north that restricts
the flow of basic commodities (fuel, food, medicines) and essential
services. The lack of an assured source of energy has limited urban
growth, employment, and light industry.
Numbers Affected
According to the U.N., of a population of 3.7 million in northern Iraq,
1.25 million people are dependent on some form of humanitarian
assistance. Due to lack of contributions, the U.N. World Food Program
(WFP) reduced the number of beneficiaries from its original plan of
750,000 year round to 750,000 beneficiaries during the winter months
(November-March) and 350,000 beneficiaries during the summer months
(April-October). There are approximately 650,000 displaced persons in
northern Iraq, of whom 230,000 are unable to return to their place of
origin for fear of retribution. This group includes those who have fled
from nearby cities still within GOI control, from Iran, and from
insecure border areas with Turkey and Iran. Within the northern
governorates, there are approximately 13,000 Turkish Kurd asylum seekers
and 3,500 Iranian Kurd refugees.
Total U.S. Government Assistance (USG) for
FY 1995 to date. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$2,545,253
Current Situation
On July 12, 1995, the Government of Turkey (GOT) confirmed that all
Turkish troops had completed their mission against the Kurdish Workers
Party (PKK) and had withdrawn from northern Iraq. This marked the end
of the GOT's operations in Iraq which began on March 20, 1995, ended
briefly approximately one month later, and resumed again in early July.
The military operations were an effort to wipe out what the GOT claimed
were PKK staging bases for operations against the GOT in southern
Turkey. The fighting displaced approximately 500 families who were
living in resettlement projects near the Iraq-Turkey border and reduced
the access of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in Turkish military
occupied areas.
Traffic delays caused by GOT military operations at the Habur Gate
border crossing between Turkey and Iraq declined markedly after April.
The queue of trucks waiting to cross into northern Iraq decreased after
the end of the first incursion from a length of 100 km to less than 30
km, which is relatively normal for the area. Despite this, humanitarian
shipments are still utilizing the U.N. Department of Humanitarian
Affairs (UNDHA) convoys to speed the delivery of humanitarian supplies
into northern Iraq from Turkey.
Intermittent fighting between the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and
Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) in Erbil and As Sulaimaniya
governorates continued during this reporting period. A cease-fire
instituted in April was extended until July 15, but was broken on July
9. The USG called on both parties to suspend fighting and both agreed
to do so in late July. As of early August, both sides are upholding the
cease-fire. Despite this fighting, NGOs continued operations where
possible and those that were halted due to fighting have been resumed.
On June 21 - 26, BHR/OFDA's Director, Assistant Director and the
northern Iraq Action Officer visited the region to assess the
humanitarian situation and operations of its Disaster Assistance
Response Team (DART) in northern Iraq. The team met with
representatives of U.N. agencies, the NGO community, local authorities,
U.S. Embassy Ankara, and the U.K.'s Overseas Development Administration
(ODA.)
On July 16, Turkish asylum seekers housed in a displaced persons camp at
Feysh Khabur, near the Syrian border, were relocated to sites near Dohuk
city. The camp was closed because it was no longer sustainable in that
location. A local NGO, Kurdistan Reconstruction Organization (KRO), is
currently rehabilitating buildings at a site in Zawita for families and
has established a site in lower Belqas for single men. The USG is
providing tents at both sites until permanent shelters can be built or
repaired.
Political/Military Situation
Internecine fighting among rival Kurdish groups escalated recently,
causing problems for the efficient administration of the humanitarian
program in northern Iraq. Both the KDP, headed by Masoud Barzani, and
the PUK, headed by Jalalis Talabani, continued to clash throughout
northern Iraq. The most recent fighting is centered around the Balisan
and Hiran valleys in the Erbil governorate.
Relief Efforts
NGOs and U.N. agencies, in cooperation with the GOI and local
authorities, continue to implement the 1995 U.N. Humanitarian Program in
Iraq. The program's main objective is to assist in the rehabilitation
of northern Iraq in order to restore the region's food security to
levels which existed prior to the 1987 Anfal Campaign. Priority areas
include health needs, resettlement of displaced people, and agricultural
inputs designed to increase food security.
The U.N. Guard Contingent in Iraq (UNGCI) is an international body
composed of soldiers predominately from European countries who protect
U.N. personnel employed in the context of the U.N.'s Humanitarian
Program in northern Iraq, as well as the property, equipment and
supplies attached to it. The UNGCI patrol in areas of deployment,
provide escort duties to relief convoys and relief operations, and
maintain a radio-telecommunications network for the overall benefit and
enhanced security of humanitarian organizations operating in northern
Iraq. Despite pleas from UNDHA for continued assistance for the UNGCI,
funding constraints have resulted in a decrease in force levels over the
past few months from 150 to 49 guards.
USAID/BHR/OFDA's DART, headquartered in Zakho, has overall management of
the USG humanitarian program in northern Iraq. The DART, consisting of
six international and over thirty local professional staff, identify
commodity requirements and program priorities, prepare grants and
contracts, monitor USG-funded projects in the field, and provide
logistics for the transportation of relief supplies. The DART also
assists NGOs, U.N. agencies, and other organizations in developing
project proposals and developing and reviewing program requirement.
DART offices are located in Zakho, Dohuk, Erbil, and Sulaimaniya.
As the principal donor of humanitarian relief in northern Iraq, the U.S.
continues to play a leadership role. (The U.S. does not fund
humanitarian programs in central and southern Iraq because of the
inability to monitor humanitarian aid and continued interference by the
GOI.) ODA and the European Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO) are
also major donors to the humanitarian program in the north.
The unresolved fighting between the KDP and the PUK remains the largest
hindrance to the humanitarian program at this time. While the
humanitarian effort is able to continue normally in Dohuk governorate,
the polarization of the parties along geographical lines makes
transporting humanitarian cargo into disputed areas difficult.
Sectoral Needs
Resettlement
The focus of the U.N. plan of action is to resettle displaced urban
populations and those forcibly moved from their traditional homes into
collective villages by the GOI during the Anfal Campaign, which started
in 1987. During the Anfal, it is estimated that the GOI destroyed over
4,000 villages, forcing approximately 800,000 people into "collective
towns." These populations currently require continuous support and are
especially vulnerable during winter months. In addition, the United
Nations Iraq Relief Coordination Unit (UN/IRCU) continues to monitor
those Iraqis displaced by the recent GOT incursion into northern Iraq.
UN/IRCU reports 500 families were displaced by the recent Turkish
military operations in northern Iraq.
As a primary focus of the USG program in FY 1995, 70% of the USG
contribution to northern Iraq is provided for resettlement projects,
either through direct funding or the provision of construction
materials. Resettlement activities include building shelters, schools
and clinics; repairing access roads; rehabilitating water projects and
sanitation facilities; and providing inputs for small scale agricultural
activities and livestock for especially vulnerable groups such as widows
and the handicapped. Other resettlement activities include mine
clearing and demarcation, and education of villagers to the hazards of
mines and explosives.
On April 10, work resumed on the FY 1994 USG-funded Shelter Now
International (SNI) resettlement project in Dohuk governorate. The
target of this project is to construct 1,063 shelters for displaced
persons (DPs) in 18 villages. Of these shelters, 668 have been
completed and the majority of the remainder are more than 50% complete.
On June 30, BHR/OFDA signed a new grant with SNI for the construction of
1,027 family shelters in the Rosty Valley in FY 1995. The Swedish NGO,
Qandil and the local NGO, Kurdistan Reconstruction Organization (KRO),
continued construction of 350 planned shelters in the Sulevani area with
DOD funds and construction materials; currently 160 have been completed.
On July 20, the German NGO Samaritan Worker's Fund (ASB) completed the
construction of 280 shelters in Erbil governorate, thus fulfilling the
goals of its project there. Also in late July, OXFAM completed the
construction of the 500 shelters planned in the Germain area.
Fuel
Restrictions on fuel from territory controlled by the GOI remain in
effect. Diesel fuel is still readily available but benzine continues to
be halted from transhipment north by the GOI. A lack of affordable
benzine is impacting U.N. and NGO programs which rely primarily on
benzine powered vehicles. The DART field offices continue to distribute
benzine in support of DART operations and to NGOs implementing priority
BHR/OFDA and DOD projects.
Electricity
Most areas of the three governorates no longer receive an uninterrupted
supply of electricity. Dohuk has not received electricity from the
national power grid since August 1993, affecting some 800,000 people.
Currently, Dohuk's main source of power is derived from generators
throughout the governorate. While some are commercially operated, most
generators in Dohuk are provided by the USG or UNICEF; these generators
are failing and require unusual and difficult-to-find repair parts. For
approximately three months, electricity in Dohuk was supplemented by
electrical power provided by the GOT to the local governorate and to
supplement basic facilities. However, on June 25, this power source was
cut off, placing additional burdens on the 101 already over-burdened
generators used throughout the governorate. On July 28, GOT-provided
power was restored. The DART is conducting an assessment of future
energy needs and the USG is working to provide six DOD excess gas
turbine generators to provide a steady source of power, lessening the
strain on the existing power grid, and thus averting major power outages
to hospitals, water systems, and other vital humanitarian operations in
Dohuk governorate.
Since August 3, 1994, the cities of Aqra and Shekan and surrounding
areas have not received electricity from the GOI. Some generators,
originally provided to respond to the electrical cutoff in Dohuk, were
reallocated to Aqra/Shekan area, but more are needed to meet the basic
medical, water, and sanitation needs. To further ease this situation,
the Ministry of Industry and Energy in Erbil began providing the area
with electricity on December 10. However, this source was disrupted
when KDP-PUK fighting damaged the main lines. Sulaimaniya is beginning
to experience some power outages due to high electricity demand.
Health
Health services remain inadequate in the northern governorates, and
serious shortages of basic drugs, medical equipment and supplies
continue. To alleviate some of these shortages, the USG has provided
emergency shipments of drugs and other medical supplies for emergency
needs and funds NGO health care projects throughout northern Iraq.
Local and international NGOs are actively addressing the health needs of
communities in northern Iraq through the construction and maintenance of
clinics, health centers, and hospitals. The Iraqi Red Crescent Society
and Pharmacists Without Borders began providing drugs and basic hospital
supplies to several clinics and hospitals in the Dohuk governorate
during June.
UNICEF-sponsored health campaigns began in earnest during the month of
April. The regional polio immunization campaign was held from April 11
to 17. The anti-malarial campaign began on May 1. Due to these annual
campaigns, positive cases of malaria and polio have decreased markedly
compared to the previous three years. Local health officials, in
coordination with UNICEF, also conducted a survey of vitamin deficiency
in order to target at-risk populations in the northern governorates.
Food
The World Food Program (WFP) has faced continued shortages of donor food
aid throughout the spring and into the current summer season. In May,
WFP began distributing only wheat flour and lentils, rather than its
full ration of flour, lentils, sugar, and vegetable oil. In view of the
rapidly depleting food stocks and the fact that there was no food in the
pipeline, WFP further reduced the number of beneficiaries for the month
of June from 350,000 to 300,000 for the north, with only two items at
reduced rationscale: 5 kgs of wheat flour per person and 5 kgs of
lentils. During the month of July, WFP provided rations to 290,995
recipients in the three northern governorates: 61,000 in Dohuk, 87,575
in Erbil, and 142,420 in Sulaimaniya. After these food distributions,
WFP expects to be able to meet its August distribution needs with
existing stocks and projected contributions of food. WFP is
anticipating food shipments will arrive from other donors to meet the
September food distribution. In preparation for the winter months, the
USG-procured food for the WFP Winter Emergency Program (WEP) began to
arrive at WFP/Erbil warehouse during mid-July.
Agriculture
On April 1, the USG, the ODA, ECHO, and the U.N. Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO), working with local governorate agriculture
departments, instituted a pesticide campaign against the sunne bug.
Untreated, this insect quickly infests wheat fields, causing
considerable damage to yield and quality of harvests. The infestation
was especially heavy this year, due to the late arrival of pesticides
from the FAO and ECHO. The campaign was completed on June 21 and
resulted in the treatment of tens of thousands of hectares of crops.
On May 24, BHR/OFDA signed a grant with Northwest Medical Teams (NWMT)
to continue its animal vaccination program throughout northern Iraq.
NWMT has vaccinated goats and sheep against enterotox, intestinal
parasites, vaptocox, and sheep/goat pox. To protect cows, goats, and
sheep, NWMT assisted local veterinarians in vaccinating the animals
against foot and mouth disease and the cattle against rinderpest. The
program is successfully treating animals and lessening local dependence
on free vaccinations by charging nominal fees for this service.
Education
The International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC), working with
local education officials, has completed its grant for the construction
of six schools in As Sulaimaniya governorate. The Mines Advisory Group
(MAG) has suspended its Community Mines Awareness Program in villages in
Erbil governorate because of internecine fighting. The MAG project in
As Sulaimaniya governorate was unaffected and continues to promote
awareness of mine dangers and provide training in mine avoidance.
Road Repair
In May, the USG-funded SNI project completed its repair of 57 km of
access roads to the SNI resettlement project in Dohuk Governorate which
service 18 villages. Work on the project had been halted for several
months due to the GOT military incursion. As part of its resettlement
project in the Rosty Valley, SNI completed its assessments of the access
roads and began work on the project on July 22. The USG-supported Sediq
Weli Sindy Road Project is in the process of connecting more than 20
destroyed villages of the Sindy Tribe to the main road between the towns
of Zakho and Batofa. As of June 22, 25 km of road had been completed.
In Sulaimaniya governorate, DOD-funded small purchase contracts to HAD
and the local NGO, Kurdistan Villages Reconstruction Association (KVRA,)
were recently signed for the improvement of roads and bridges to improve
access to isolated villages.
Water and Sanitation
In the Dohuk governorate, two of Qandil's 14 water projects were
completed in June. In Erbil, the British NGO, Iraq Trust (IT),
continued its work on the rehabilitation of two wells and the
installation of four water and sanitation systems in three villages.
Also in Erbil, the French NGO, Aide Medicale Internationale (AMI),
completed its $1.4 million well project in Kaulan Village. Eight other
DOD-funded water and sanitation projects throughout Erbil have been
completed recently. The projects were carried out by the German NGO
Help. In Sulaimaniya governorate, Global Partners (GP) completed
drilling two wells which will service 137 families recently resettled by
OXFAM in the Germain area. Throughout the governorate, six different
NGOs are actively working on eight water sanitation projects which
benefit more than 1,900 individuals and approximately 2,100 families.
Assistance Provided by the USG
The USG has been in the forefront of the humanitarian relief effort for
northern Iraq since the initiation of Operation Provide Comfort (OPC) in
April 1991. The combined total USG contribution for FY 1991 to 1994
exceeded $335 million in direct relief to the northern governorates,
plus the initial cost of OPC. In FY 1995, BHR/OFDA has awarded grants
to Global Partners, SNI, and NWMT.
FY 1995
On October 1, 1994, Robert H. Pelletreau, the Assistant Secretary of
State for Near Eastern Affairs, declared that a disaster continues to
exist in northern Iraq, thereby warranting continued USG assistance
during FY 1995. (DOD allotted $30 million from its FY 1995 humanitarian
budget for use in northern Iraq.)
USAID/BHR/OFDA FY 1995 Assistance
DART Personnel and Administration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$813,201
Grant with WFP for monitoring distribution
of WEP food. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$450,000
Grant with Global Partners for a water
drilling program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$353,000
Grant with Northwest Medical Teams for a
livestock vaccination project. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$412,631
Grant with SNI to resettle 1,027 families
in the Erbil Governate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$342,694
Grant with Assyrian Aid & Social Society (AA&SS)
for a resettlement program in Dahok. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$173,727
Total BHR/OFDA FY 1995 (to date) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$2,545,253
TOTAL USG FY 1995 (to date) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$2,545,253
Summary of FY 1994 USG Funding
Total DOD. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $38,960,000
Total USAID/BHR/OFDA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$970,949
Total USG Assistance (FY 1994) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $39,930,949
Nan Borton
Director
Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance
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