Iraq

Two years after Iraq declared military victory over ISIS in December 2017, 1.4 million people are still internally displaced. Efforts to rebuild are underway against a backdrop of continuing insecurity, the high presence of armed groups, ethnoreligious tensions and a looming ISIS insurgency. This report sets out to explore the perceptions of communities in Kirkuk and Diyala of the main protection risks they face. 

Oxfam’s humanitarian work in Iraq is restricted due to heightened security concerns, road checkpoints and travel difficulties, following Iranian missile attacks on US military bases in Iraq overnight in retaliation for the US killing of the Iranian General Suleimani.

One year after Mosul was retaken from ISIS, thousands of people are still unable to return home as parts of the city remain severely damaged and lack running water or electricity.

The Swedish development agency Sida has announced their decision to go ahead with a new three year humanitarian partnership with Oxfam. The €10.2 million partnership arrangement will ensure over 280,000 people in more than five countries will receive critical humanitarian aid. 

Traumatized women and children fleeing Iraq's Tal Afar district have told Oxfam how people died walking for days through the desert in 50C heat to reach safety.

As Mosul rebuilds, all its residents must enjoy the same rights and opportunities – whatever their gender, religion, or ethnic or tribal affiliation.

With the latest military offensive starting any day, Oxfam is deeply concerned for the safety of families trapped in western Mosul where narrow, densely-populated streets could become a death trap. 

The number of families fleeing Mosul has more than tripled in the space of a week - many of them have been suffering appalling injuries and traumas to escape the fighting.

Thousands of families are living in a “smoke-filled hell” without access to clean water or medical services after ISIS militants retreated from towns and villages on the way to Mosul.

People escaping the village of Hawd, 50km south of Mosul, have told Oxfam that a high number of civilians were injured during the offensive to retake the village earlier this week.