Iraq - IOM Iraq’s Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) has recorded 40,608 individuals (6,768 families) displaced by violence in Ramadi since 15 May. Of these, over 39,500 individuals (some 6,600 families) are displaced within Anbar governorate.

The displacement path for most is: first the city of Al-Khaldiya in the east of Ramadi, then to Al-Amirya (also known as Amriyat al-Falluja), with some continuing on to the Tourist City (Al Madina Al Siyahiya) in Al-Habbaniya.

UN agencies and partners are collaborating to respond to this new displacement and rapidly provide life-saving assistance; IOM has been an essential partner, providing tents, non-food items and DTM data to guide the humanitarian response. 

IOM distributed 8,000 “Rapid Response Mechanism” (RRM) kits this past week, provided by UNICEF, to recently displaced persons (IDPs) in Al-Amirya, Fallujah, Anbar governorate.

The kits, which include a plastic bucket, water bottles and a hygiene kit, were distributed to displaced people living in abandoned and unfinished buildings, makeshift shelters, tents, and schools. 

In partnership with UNICEF, IOM will distribute a total of more than 40,000 RRM kits through the end of May in the districts of Anbar, Baghdad, and Salahaddin.

Distributions of tents and non-food item kits including mattresses, blankets, stoves and other essential items are also planned. Distributions are carried out based on joint needs assessments conducted with the government and humanitarian partners.  

Ahmed Kahtan, who received one of the kits, told IOM:  “My family has been facing a hard time since the crisis in Ramadi. It is difficult to provide for my four children in such circumstances. The picture was bleak until we got these relief supplies."

IOM Iraq Chief of Mission Thomas Lothar Weiss said: “Thousands of recently displaced people are in immediate need of humanitarian assistance. I commend UNICEF for providing these kits to assist Iraqis are in desperate circumstances. Coordinated inter-agency assistance through the UN Country Team is essential to adequately respond to the crisis in Ramadi.”

IOM has distributed 112,000 non-food item kits and 12,000 shelter units across Iraq since the current crisis began in January 2014. 

More IDPs have been identified in Iraq, as the IOM DTM now tracks 2,834,676 persons displaced by violence since January 2014. According to the most recent DTM report there are now more than 422,000 IDPs in Anbar governorate.

The most recent IOM Iraq DTM Dataset, Dashboards, and Dynamic Displacement Map, in addition to previous DTM products, can be found at: http://iomiraq.net/dtm-page

For more information please contact Sandra Black at IOM Iraq, Email: sblack@iom.int, Tel. +964 751 234 2550