Scores of civilians lost their lives during the month of June in several bomb blasts, mainly in Baghdad and Kirkuk, that shattered the optimism that Iraqis had built up in early 2009.

The ICRC responded by delivering one tonne of emergency medical supplies to Al Jumhuriyya General Hospital in Kirkuk and Al Imam Ali General Hospital in Baghdad, where most of the casualties were taken. It also supplied Al Imam Ali General Hospital with surgical drainage material and 120,000 litres of water. The ICRC provided these items while continuing to deliver monthly supplies of drugs and medical equipment for hospitals and primary health-care centres in Baghdad, Kirkuk, Erbil, Suleimaniya and Ninewa governorates.

Farmers in parts of central and southern Iraq are unable to cultivate arable crops, as land that was highly productive in past decades has been severely affected by the recent droughts. In the villages of Fayadiya (Babil governorate), and Al Salam and Albo Jamr (Wassit governorate), the ICRC gave about 200 farmers more than 80 tonnes of fertilizer to help them cultivate their land and regain self-sufficiency. In the village of Marranah (Najaf governorate), 185 rice farmers were given 28 tonnes of fertilizers that will help to boost rice yields.

In addition to the assistance it provided to Al Jumhury General Hospital for victims of the massive blast in Kirkuk, the ICRC gave such items as thermoses, blankets, kettles, teapots, kitchen sets, tarpaulins, buckets, jerrycans and ready-to-eat meals for four days to 900 people affected by the explosion.

The ICRC regularly visits detention facilities to monitor treatment and conditions of detention. In June, ICRC delegates visited:

• detainees held by the US/Multi-National Force – Iraq (MNF-I) in Camp Taji and Camp Cropper, in Baghdad governorate;
• for the first time, detainees held at the Military Intelligence Central Prison in Baghdad, under the authority of the Ministry of Defence, and detainees held at Al Janubi Police Station in Ramadi (Anbar governorate), under the authority of the Ministry of the Interior;
• detainees held in Baghdad Central Prison (Baghdad governorate) and in Fort Suse (Suleimaniya governorate), both under the authority of the Ministry of Justice;
• detainees in eight detention facilities in Erbil, Dohuk and Suleimaniya governorates.

"It is of the utmost importance that detainees and their families be able to meet," said the ICRC's Laurent Saugy. "These visits reassure the families and bring psychological relief to all concerned." Since 2005, the ICRC has been providing financial assistance enabling families to travel to Basra, in the southern part of the country, to visit relatives detained in Camp Bucca. In June, almost 1,800 detainees received visits from their relatives.

Maryam, whose son is being held there, is one of those who benefited from this financial aid. She travelled to Basra with her 10-year-old daughter all the way from Mosul, in the north. "It is always hard to go back home without him," she said, with tears in her eyes. "He has been here for three years now. If it had not been for the ICRC, I would not have been able to come and see him."

Detainees and families also stay in touch through Red Cross messages, which are collected and distributed by Iraqi Red Crescent Society volunteers and ICRC staff. In June, more than 21,500 Red Cross messages were exchanged between detainees and their families within and outside Iraq.

Also in June, the ICRC issued travel documents to 96 Palestinian refugees from Al-Waleed Camp (Anbar Governorate) to enable them to travel to Europe and the United States, where they will be resettled with the help of the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Organization for Migration.

Efforts continue to find out what happened to people unaccounted for as a result of the region’s conflicts. The Technical Sub-Committee of the Tripartite Commission, investigating cases of persons still missing in connection with the 1990-1991 Gulf War, held its 60th session in June. The meeting was chaired by the ICRC and attended by the Commission's members: Iraq, Kuwait, and four members of the Coalition (France, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom and the United States).

The ICRC organized a meeting of forensic experts from Iraq, Kuwait, France, the United States and the ICRC. The aim was to expedite exhumation of the remains of Iraqis and Kuwaitis who went missing following the Gulf War, and to share new techniques and methods of excavation, recovery and identification of remains.

Iraqis continue to face problems obtaining clean water. The ICRC therefore remains committed to supporting improvements to the water infrastructure. In June, it:

• completed work boosting the capacity of Abu Tiban Water Treatment Plant (Anbar), serving around 65,000 people;
• supplied spare parts to the Directorate of Sewage in Muthanna to support their fleet of sewage collection trucks;
• installed new walk-in and mortuary fridges and generators in Abu Ghraib General Hospital and Al Rashad Psychiatric Hospital, both in Baghdad, and in Baquba Medico-Legal Institute, in Diyala;
• completed the upgrading of electromechanical installations in Al Haj Dawood al Janabi primary health-care centre in Baghdad, which treats an average of 130 patients per day.

• Qalawa Quarter camp for internally displaced persons, in Suleimaniya, hosting around 360 people;
• 4,500 displaced people in Sadr City, Al Kindi General Hospital, Al Yarmouk Teaching Hospital, Al Imam Ali General Hospital and Al Rashad Psychiatry Teaching Hospital, in Baghdad.

As part of its activities to promote international humanitarian law and raise awareness of the ICRC's mandate and activities in Iraq, the organization gave several presentations and held workshops for various audiences, including journalists.