More refugees from Mosul expected
Welthungerhilfe is ready and waiting to assist refugee families from the embattled city
Following the start of the military offensive on western Mosul on Sunday, Welthungerhilfe and its partners from the European network Alliance2015 are ready and waiting to assist refugee families from the embattled city. More than 750,000 people live in the western part of the city and the United Nations fears that between 250,000 and 400,000 could flee. After months of siege, food, water and fuel have become scarce.
“During the assault on eastern Mosul in October we found that people were fleeing the fighting within a few days or weeks. They can only take their clothes and a couple of other belongings with them and need urgent support. Therefore, we have initially arranged emergency care packages for approximately 20,000 people. These include clothes, heating stoves and kerosene to protect people from the cold. At the same time, we are repairing generators and water pipelines in the surrounding destroyed villages so people have clean water,” reports Country Director Mike Bonke from Dohuk.
Welthungerhilfe has been working in the north of Iraq for two years and is currently supporting about 40,000 refugees around Erbil and Dohuk. A key focus is assisting people to return to their homes.
After the capture of Mosul by IS in June 2014, many people fled their villages. The reconstruction of schools and irrigation systems is thus central to the assistance.
Welthungerhilfe is one of the largest private aid organisations in Germany; politically independent and non-denominational. It is fighting for ‘Zero Hunger by 2030’. Since its establishment, more than 8,500 overseas projects in 70 countries have been supported with 3.27 billion euros. Welthungerhilfe works on the basic principle of help for self-help: from rapid disaster relief to reconstruction and long-term development cooperation projects with national and international partner organisations.
