April 15, 2025 02:30 pm (IST)

Make this your homepage

Foreign

UP cop mistakenly names judge as 'accused' in arrest warrant of a theft case, gets suspended | Congress only pleased fundamentalists, Waqf Act is the biggest proof: PM Modi | Salman Khan receives fresh death threat, complaint filed | Bengal LoP Suvendu Adhikari demands NIA probe into Murshidabad riots | 15 flights diverted, many delayed as dust storm hits Delhi, Haryana | AIADMK, BJP join hands again to contest Tamil Nadu elections under Edappadi K Palaniswami | PM Modi inaugurates Rs. 3,880-cr projects in Varanasi on 50th visit to his Lok Sabha constituency | Bengal job losers camp outside SSC office in Kolkata, demand mirror copies of genuine candidate list | Mumbai terror attack accused Tahawwur Rana sent to 18-day NIA custody | Donald Trump's latest tariff hike on Beijing brings additional rate on some Chinese goods to 145 pct: White House

Photo: UNHCR/R. Nuri

Iraq: UN swings into action on humanitarian fronts

India Blooms News Service | | Jun 13, 2014, at 05:19 pm

#Iraq # United nations # militant takeover # terrorist groups

New York, Jun 13 (IBNS): With Iraq facing "the most serious threats to its security in years," the top United Nations official in the country reiterated on Thursday the Organization's support for the Iraqi Government's efforts to combat terrorist groups in the wake of the crisis sparked by the militant takeover of key cities in the north.

According to a UN spokesperson in New York, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Iraq, Nikolay Mladenov, met earlier on Thursday with Speaker Osama Nujeifi of the Iraqi Council of Representatives and expressed grave concern about the situation in the country.

Islamic insurgents seized Iraq’s second largest city on Tuesday following days of fighting against Iraqi Government forces. As many as 500,000 people have reportedly fled Mosul in the wake of the violence, and on Wednesday, terrorists kidnapped the Consul General of Turkey and several consulate staff working in the city.

In his meetings, Mladenov said that the ongoing violence in parts of Iraq is the most severe threat to its security in years. He reiterated the UN’s support for the Iraqi Government in its efforts to fight against terrorist organizations.

On Wednesday, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon deplored the upsurge in violence as “totally unacceptable,” strongly condemning the actions of terrorists groups, including the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), which have reportedly taken control of the cities of Mosul, Tuz Khourmatu, Beiji and Tikrit.

Mladenov briefed the UN Security Council on Thursday on the situation via video-conference.

Meanwhile, on the humanitarian front, UN agencies have swung into action to provide assistance for the hundreds of thousands of people fleeing the turmoil. Those agencies already on the ground are urging the protection of civilians and appealing for additional support to address this rapidly-evolving humanitarian crisis.

The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and its partners have prioritized delivery of emergency aid, including vaccines to help prevent the spread of diseases such as polio and measles.

In addition, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) is launching an initial emergency operation to provide food assistance to 42,000 of the most vulnerable people displaced by the violence.

In a press release, the agency said it has deployed emergency and logistics staff to Erbil in the Kurdistan region to determine further food needs on the ground following the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people from Mosul to Erbil and neighbouring areas over the past two days.

“The crisis in Iraq is escalating quickly. In some areas on the borders between Iraq and Kurdistan where newly displaced people are arriving, there are reports of unavailability of food in the shops. Meeting the food needs of the most vulnerable groups is a crucial step for WFP’s mission in the country,” said WFP Representative in Iraq Jane Pearce.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has also stepped up its efforts to provide shelter, protection and emergency supplies to displaced families. Preparations for a displacement camp in the Dohuk Governorate are under way. Some 1,000 UNHCR tents have been delivered, and UNICEF and partners are coordinating emergency water and sanitation activities for the camp.

(Displaced Iraqis who fled from the fighting in Mosul wait in line to receive clearance to travel to safety in Erbil. Photo: UNHCR/R. Nuri)

Support Our Journalism

We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism

IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.

Support objective journalism for a small contribution.

India
International

Related Images

In image Israeli strike in southern Gaza Dec 06, 2023, at 05:13 am

In Images: Uzbekistan presidential election Jul 10, 2023, at 07:08 pm

Xi Jinping, Putin in Russia Mar 22, 2023, at 08:26 pm