Media Home
UN Web TV
UN Audiovisual Library
UN PhotoGENEVA / MOSUL REFUGEES
Download
There is no media available to download.
Share
STORY: GENEVA / MOSUL REFUGEES
TRT: 2:23
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 12 MAY 2017, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
1. Exterior, Flag alley of the Palais des Nations in Geneva
2. Wide shot, press briefing room
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Andrej Mahecic, Spokesperson for the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR):
“The first buses brought the new arrivals to the camp, already on Tuesday and there are currently more than 500 children, women and men at the site, in total about 96 families as of this morning. This is the 12th site that we have opened in this area and it is the latest one that has been built by UNHCR and our partners in response to the ongoing Mosul emergency.”
4. Wide shot, journalists
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Andrej Mahecic, Spokesperson for the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR):
“We are very concerned about the risks for the people who are fleeing from Mosul, they are taking great risks and dangers, everybody on the move fleeing the city is exposed to the very dangerous condition along the path. People speak of the conditions that are desperate and worsening, families are arriving from West Mosul reporting heavy bombing and fighting. They also tell us that there are no basic services in the city, no food, no water, no fuel. Some of the families have also told us they are living on one meal a day, often just a piece of bread, maybe some flour and water mixed, combined with tomato paste.”
6. Close up, journalist
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Andrej Mahecic, Spokesperson for the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR):
“We reiterated in that regard our call to all parties in the fighting to ensure that civilians are not prevented from leaving the areas of active conflict and are provided with access to safe areas, included those currently trapped in Mosul. Equally civilians must not be forced back to return to unsafe areas. Six months into the Mosul offensive we remain concerned about the continuing massive displacement and despite the enormous risks, the number of people fleeing West Mosul is showing no sight of abating.”
8. Med shot, journalists
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Andrej Mahecic, Spokesperson for the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR):
“Our current humanitarian efforts to shelter and assist displaced Iraqis families and refugees who fled to Iraq are seriously challenged by waning funding support. Our programme in support of refugees and internally displaced people in Iraq are currently only 18 % funded. This situation now threatens our ability to effectively respond to the immediate and mounting humanitarian needs in Iraq this year.”
11. Close up, hands typing
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) opened its 12th camp in northern Iraq to shelter an increasing number of Iraqi families fleeing the fighting in western Mosul.
Speaking to reporters today (12 May) in Geneva, UNHCR’s spokesperson Andrej Mahecic said “the first buses brought the new arrivals to the camp, already on Tuesday and there are currently more than 500 children, women and men at the site, in total about 96 families as of this morning. This is the 12th site that we have opened in this area and it is the latest one that has been built by UNHCR and our partners in response to the ongoing Mosul emergency.”
The camp Hasansham U2 is located around 60 kilometres west of Mosul along the highway to Erbil. It has the capacity to accommodate more than 9,000 people when fully occupied.
Less than four weeks ago UNHCR opened the Hammam al-Alil 2 camp with a capacity for 30,000 people which is according to the UN Refugee Agency completely full.
Mahecic said “we are very concerned about the risks for the people who are fleeing from Mosul”. He added that “they are taking great risks and dangers; everybody on the move fleeing the city is exposed to the very dangerous condition along the path. People speak of the conditions that are desperate and worsening, families are arriving from West Mosul reporting heavy bombing and fighting. They also tell us that there are no basic services in the city, no food, no water, no fuel. Some of the families have also told us they are living on one meal a day, often just a piece of bread, maybe some flour and water mixed, combined with tomato paste.”
UNHCR reiterated its call to all parties in the fighting “to ensure that civilians are not prevented from leaving the areas of active conflict and are provided with access to safe areas, included those currently trapped in Mosul.” Mahecic added “equally civilians must not be forced back to return to unsafe areas. Six months into the Mosul offensive we remain concerned about the continuing massive displacement and despite the enormous risks, the number of people fleeing West Mosul is showing no sight of abating.”
According to Iraqi authorities more than 630,000 people have been displaced from Mosul and its surroundings since the beginning of the military operations in October 2016. This number includes more than 434,000 displaced from western Mosul since mid-February. In the meantime, an estimated 141,000 people have since returned to their areas of origin.
UNHCR expects more outflows from the west of the city and is therefore preparing with their partners new camps.
UNHCR’s programmes for refugees and internally displaced people in Iraq have received only 105.1 million USD out of the requested amount of (USD) 578 million. Mahecic said “our current humanitarian efforts to shelter and assist displaced Iraqis families and refugees who fled to Iraq are seriously challenged by waning funding support. Our programme in support of refugees and internally displaced people in Iraq are currently only 18 % funded. This situation now threatens our ability to effectively respond to the immediate and mounting humanitarian needs in Iraq this year.”
