Humanitarian workers in Iraq are warning that the response to the battle of Mosul is being hampered by lack of funding and the pressure of supporting the millions already displaced by conflict across the country.
As Iraqi, US and Kurdish coalition troops approach Mosul for military action that could take place any time in the next couple of weeks, the UN Refugee Agency’s Iraq country director Bruno Geddo told the Guardian that there is not enough money to prepare adequately for the huge numbers that could flee the city, with the Mosul budget only 48 per cent funded.
“We are preparing for a million people, we have to prepare for the worst,” said Geddo. “We have shelter for 130,000 people but in terms of camp space we only have space for 60,000 people. The timeline to set up additional camps is extremely tight, finding suitable land is fraught with problems, and the funding is still insufficient.
“We need a big chunk more funding to complete winter packages. We are short of $60m (£49m) for heaters and kerosene alone. If people cannot keep warm they will get sick when temperatures fall.”
He warns that the consequences of failing to support a sufficient humanitarian response could be very serious. “The worry is that if the protection of civilians and the humanitarian response fall short, this may rekindle the grievances and suspicions that contributed to the takeover of Mosul by Islamic State in the first place. A successful military campaign to retake Mosul is necessary but not sufficient. The stakes are high, as much for the military as for the humanitarian workers.”
Preparations for the potential exodus of hundreds of thousands of civilians from Mosul have been underway since the summer as military plans to take the city back from Isis have progressed, with the UN working closely with other NGOs to coordinate the building of camps.
“It has been a bit of a challenge because the locations and the directions that people are expected to flee to have kept changing,” said Alun McDonald, spokesman for Save the Children in Iraq, referring to the difficulty of planning for such large-scale movement. “The UN is up to version 23 of its planning map of the camps.”
The preparations for people expected to flee Mosul come as Save the Children carries out emergency work to help Iraqis escaping other Isis-controlled areas. According to McDonald: “Even though the Mosul offensive is just starting we have seen more than 100,000 people displaced in the past few months from several Isis-held areas in central Iraq. Iraq is an incredibly difficult country for us.
“When people are displaced they go through screening centres run by the Iraqi army so we deploy there immediately with food, water, blankets. They have been arriving in a pretty desperate state due to lack of water and some were walking barefoot for 36 hours on their journey.”
McDonald is concerned that the even larger numbers that could leave Mosul will potentially pose more complex challenges, such as families being split up.
“At security screening centres men and boys are detained for long times, separated from mothers and sisters. We are particularly worried about this because of the large numbers that might move from Mosul. We are trying to work with the authorities to ensure families are reunited.”
The UN is working to support more than 3 million Iraqis who have been displaced by fighting across the country since 2014. Geddo warns that the multiple crises that NGOs are facing in Iraq are making it a very difficult environment to work in. “Iraq is very complicated,” he says. “We have 3.3 million displaced as well as large numbers returning to their home cities after leaving during conflict. We are dealing with large-scale outflow from Mosul [and other cities] on top of that number. It makes it even more difficult.”
McDonald says that while people will want to go back, as with the millions living in camps and temporary homes across Iraq, there may be many obstacles to returning. “People will want to go back but it just depends on how the offensive goes. If there is heavy fighting and lots of the town gets destroyed, the hospitals and schools are bombed, will there be anything for people to go back to?”
If you are a humanitarian worker based in Iraq and want to tell us your experiences of working with IDPs please email us at globaldevpros@guardian.co.uk with Mosul or Iraq in the subject line.