Iraqi Christian refugees who fled the ongoing fighting between Iraqi government forces and Islamic State (IS) jihadists in northern Iraq wait to receive donations at the Chaldean Diocese in Baabda, on the southeastern outskirts of the Lebanese capital Beirut.
AFP
The UN refugee agency said Tuesday it was poised to mount a massive aid operation for 500,000 Iraqis driven from their homes by jihadist rebels.
"In response to the deteriorating situation in northern Iraq, UNHCR is this week launching one of its largest aid pushes aimed at helping close to half a million people who have been forced to leave their homes," spokesman Adrian Edwards told reporters.
He stressed that "conditions remain desperate for those without access to suitable shelter, people struggling to find food and water to feed their families, and those without access to primary medical care."
Jihadist fighters from the Islamic State group which had already occupied parts of Syria launched an offensive in Iraq on June 9 and soon took over much of the country's Sunni heartland.
The jihadists, who have declared a "caliphate" in a region straddling the Iraq-Syria border, have brought Iraq to the brink of breakup.
The United Nations estimates that 1.2 million Iraqis have been displaced by fighting this year, Edwards said ahead of the extraordinary aid push set to begin Wednesday.
"Barring last-minute delays, an air, road and sea operation will begin tomorrow, starting with a four-day airlift using Boeing 747s from Aqaba in Jordan to Arbil, followed by road convoys from Turkey and Jordan, and sea and land shipments from Dubai via Iran over the next 10 days," he said.
Among the initial supplies are 3,300 tents, 20,000 plastic sheets, 18,500 kitchen sets and 16,500 jerry cans.
He said a range of countries, including Saudi Arabia, the United States, Britain and Norway, along with Swedish furniture giant Ikea were helping provide the supplies.
UNHCR is also working closely with regional authorities in Iraq's Kurdistan Region, where at least half of the displaced have found a haven.
