The United Nations (UN) says a quarter of Iraq’s population is expected to be in need of humanitarian aid by the end of the year, as the country is threatened by worsening conditions fueled by the terrorist activities of Daesh.
The UN Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator in Iraq, Dominique Bartsch, said on Friday that the current situation is threatening some 10 million Iraqis, forcing many to leave the country.
Bartsch said the humanitarian situation in Iraq was “worsening dramatically,” after Daesh militants started taking over territory in the country last year.
According to the UN official, the most basic humanitarian aid has been reduced as a result of a lack of funding.
“Many people have reached the end on the line. They no longer have the possibility to support themselves. Many will say that the only future is outside of Iraq,” Bartsch added.
The UN official also voiced concern for some one million Kurdish Iraqis currently displaced inside the country, who are also in serious need of assistance.
He added that “a combination of minimum humanitarian assistance, but also more sustained support…, for example education and rebuilding livelihoods” was required in order to prevent more Iraqis from fleeing their country.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) recently announced that it had opened two new camps for internally displaced Iraqis in the capital, Baghdad, aimed at providing shelter for some the 3,500 Iraqis who have been forced to flee violence in Anbar Province.
This comes as Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari said Baghdad needed more logistical aid instead of foreign soldiers in its fight against Daesh militants.
Since the terrorists started operating in Iraq in June 2014, they have been committing vicious crimes against all ethnic and religious communities in the country, including Shias, Sunnis, Kurds, Christians and others.
Iraqi army soldiers and volunteer fighters have launched joint operations aimed at regaining areas under Daesh control.