At 1:00 a.m. on 10 June, in Mosul, exactly a month before this picture was taken, family members shook these two boys awake. As one of the boys explains: "We jumped into our cars and drove to Bartella, to stay with relatives. Later, my father told me that it had been too dangerous to be in Mosul." But neither was Bartella calm, as armed groups later took over the city.
So much has happened to these two boys in such a short time—but they are still able to smile and play.
When fighting reached the town of Al-Sa'diyah, Diyala, the civilians, particularly women, children and the elderly, could do only one thing: run for their lives to the safest and closest place. In this case, it was the city of Khanaqin.
Communities in Khanaqin were able to accommodate most of the displaced in their own homes. However, as the influx was overwhelming, some of those fleeing were settled in this small camp.
CC BY-NC-ND/ICRC/S. Dabbakeh
Khanake
When they first fled their homes, these displaced families from Sinjar could find no shelter from the blazing sun except for some rudimentary cover. The families were later moved nearby to a large camp, and it is here that they will confront the freezing months of winter.
CC BY-NC-ND/ICRC/S. Dabbakeh
Khanake
When they first fled their homes, these displaced families from Sinjar could find no shelter from the blazing sun except for some rudimentary cover. The families were later moved nearby to a large camp, and it is here that they will confront the freezing months of winter.
CC BY-NC-ND / ICRC
Ramadi, Anbar Governorate
Working in this governorate involves a challenging and time-consuming process as ICRC teams have to negotiate with various parties on the ground to reach the victims safely. The most difficult areas for the ICRC and other humanitarian organizations to access are those where fighting is ongoing and, unfortunately, where needs are acute.
Skirmishes began in Ramadi and Fallujah in December 2013, later extending to at least three more governorates. In January 2015, ICRC crews succeeded in distributing food and other basic relief to 1,500 displaced families in Ramadi even as clashes continued in the city.
CC BY-NC-ND/ICRC/L. Ameen
Najaf
Some of the people displaced from Mosul and other towns in the governorate have settled in the Babil area. In the Abu Gharaq sub–district, about 25 kilometres west of Babil, the ICRC has distributed food and essential items to 3,600 displaced people, including this boy. The rations cover the needs of a family of six for one month. A head of one of the families expresses his bittersweet feelings when he states, "This is the first time we get any assistance from anyone."
CC BY-NC-ND/ICRC
Al-Madinah al-Siyahiyyah (tourist city)
It used to be one of the foremost recreational facilities for Iraqi families. Located at Al-Habbaniyah Lake, 45 kilometres north-west of Fallujah, the huge facility possessed, among other attractions, a hotel, chalets and restaurants. But now, for the second time in this decade, the facility has replaced its recreational purpose with a sheltering function, housing some 13,000 displaced people from Fallujah, Ramadi, Ghurmah and Jurf al-Sakhr.
Not unlike in conflict situations elsewhere, fighting around Siyahiyyah resulted in the breakdown of the city’s water pumping and filtration unit. The ICRC rehabilitated the unit, which now provides clean drinking water to the displaced families.
The displaced in Siyahiyyah have also benefited from an ICRC distribution of food and other essential relief items to 13,200 individuals in January 2015.
Since the beginning of 2014, the current armed conflict in Iraq led to the displacement of more than 2 million people. Some areas in the country witnessed major population movements as people fled the fighting and sought shelter in relatively safer areas. The first respondents to the growing needs of the displaced people have been Iraqi communities in those areas, who received, hosted, and provided food, water, shelter and other forms of assistance and support. The International Committee of the Red Cross's response to the needs of the displaced people was efficient and swift. Some displaced people received aid 48 hours after their displacement. However, in some cities and towns, population shifts and influxes changed the landscape as some towns hosted a population larger than their own.
This photo gallery demonstrates part of the ICRC's activities in different areas affected by fighting in Iraq.
