Dire lack of winter funding puts millions of refugees in Middle East at risk
3 October 2017 – Dwindling resources could severely jeopardize efforts to provide refugees and displaced persons across the Middle East with essential winter supplies such as thermal blankets and warm clothing, the United Nations refugee agency has warned. For many it will be the seventh consecutive winter in displacement, living in tents or in makeshift […]
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Syria’s war has deadliest month this year
September has been the deadliest month in Syria’s civil war so far this year, a monitoring group has said. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said more than 3,300 people had died in September, including 995 civilians. Of those civilian deaths, it said about 70% were caused by Russian, Syrian government, or coalition […]
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Hundreds of thousands trapped in Mosul with ‘worst yet to come’ – UN AGENCY
24 March 2017 – An estimated 400,000 Iraqi civilians are trapped in Mosul’s Old City as fighting intensifies and people continue to flee, the United Nations refugee agency representative today warned. “The worst is yet to come,” said Bruno Geddo, the Representative of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in Iraq. Speaking by phone, Mr. Geddo […]
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Syria ‘worst man-made disaster since World War II’ – UN Rights Chief
14 March 2017 – The conflict in Syria is the “worst man-made disaster the world has seen since World War II,” the United Nations human rights chief today said, calling for an end to all tortures, executions and unfair trials, and at the very least, for the names and localities of people held in detention […]
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‘Unprecedented suffering’ for Syrian children in 2016 – UNICEF
13 March 2017 – The suffering of children in war-torn Syria “hit rock bottom” in 2016 with the highest number of grave violations against them since verification began in 2014, underscored the United Nations children’s agency urging all parties to the conflict, those who have influence over them, and anyone who cared about children to […]
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Iraq: Nearly 115,000 people displaced, 50,000 children affected by Mosul military operation – UN
28 December 2016 – Since operations began to retake the Iraqi city of Mosul from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) two months ago, some 114,042 people have been displaced and as many as one million are out of reach of humanitarian assistance. According to the latest report from the UN Office […]
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Iraq Update
Saleem is your average ten-year-old boy who likes playing soccer and running around. But three years ago, while his family was fleeing from Mosul, IS fighters caught up to them. They took his father aside and gave him an ultimatum: either convert to Islam immediately or come with them. In order to protect his family, […]
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Gleaners impact Syrian refugees and IDPs
“I’m still in shock; the situation was very, very, very bad,” Simon* told me, the day after their first visit to Debaga Camp at the end of July. “Yesterday I was taking photos, interviewing people, and crying. I had heard about the situation, but didn’t imagine it was so terrible.” A Christian IDP from Mosul, Simon […]
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Update from the ground in Iraq
This letter is to update you on the situation in Mosul, Iraq since the battle to liberate Mosul began on October 17th. We have been able to provide much-needed help for the Iraqi people in need, thanks to donors like you. From November 17-22, GAiN sent an assessment team to Iraq. During their time in […]
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Syria: UN envoy urges action to avert mass hunger in Easter Aleppo ahead of ‘killer’ winter
10 November 2016 – The United Nations humanitarian envoy for Syria today urged actions to stave off the threat of mass hunger in eastern Aleppo before the arrival of winter that he fears could be “a real killer” for a quarter of a million people trapped there. “The fifth war winter is starting in Syria. […]
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