Report: 'Diyala is turning into an imminent humanitarian tragedy'; Families fleeing; Militias in control of security

Above: Iraqis wait for food distribution in Baqubah in June. Recent convoys of humanitarian aid have been forced to turn back to Baghdad.

Diyala province, on Iraq’s eastern border with Iran, is the scene of some of the worst violence in Iraq today, making the province’s shortages of basic services worse than anywhere else in the country, according to the local council and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

“Few schools are functioning properly, with few numbers of teachers and students. Hospitals lack essential supplies as the militants and insurgents fight over them. On top of that, some police stations are under the control of local militias,” Fatah Ahmed, a spokesman for the Iraq Aid Association (IAA), said.

“Humanitarian assistance is rarely seen as violence prevents NGOs having access to families in need,” Ahmed added.

Diyala province, whose capital is Baqubah, is a volatile and religiously mixed province to the northeast of Baghdad. It covers some 18,000 square kilometres and has an estimated population of just over a million.

Families fleeing for safety

According to Faris Abdallah, a media officer for Diyala local council, families are fleeing the province in search of safer areas where humanitarian assistance can reach them.

“We have contacted the central government many times to inform them about the critical situation in Diyalah and to ask for their support in removing militia members from the control of local security but it has been useless,” Abdallah said.

“Last week, convoys carrying aid to Baqubah and nearby villages were forced to head back to the capital, leaving thousands of people without assistance,” he added.

Abdallah said only one hospital in Baqubah is functioning properly but it has a dire shortage of medicines and equipment. “The continuous clashes citywide have overwhelmed the hospital and with the violence, most doctors and nurses have fled the city.”

“Diyala is turning into an imminent humanitarian tragedy as it is lacks all kinds of basic services, including proper water purification and sewage systems,” Abdallah said.

Local NGOs say more than 50 families are fleeing the province on a daily basis. They head to the outskirts of Baghdad, the capital, to Kurdistan or to the southern provinces, depending on their religious sect or ethnic origin.

"Taliban-style rule"

“The situation worsened after Sunni insurgents established Taliban-style rule over the local population. This has caused the death of dozens of residents, including women and children,” said Col. Ateif Muhammad, a spokesman for the Iraqi army unit that last week went to Baqubah hoping to tackle violence in the area.

“As a response, militants, mainly from the Badr militia [also known as the Badr Brigade, this Shia group was formed originally by the Iranian government to fight Saddam Hussein's Baathist regime in Iraq], took control over police stations and many other security offices in Baqubah, generating more violence as they clashed with insurgents in the area,” Muhammad added. “We hope we can soon reverse the situation.”

Ahmed, from the IAA, urged all parties to the conflict to understand the neutrality of NGOs and authorise the delivery of humanitarian aid to families as many have been living in poverty, lacking water and food supplies.

“Local NGOs and the provincial council recently issued a statement asking the central government for help as Diyala has become the worst governorate when it comes to the delivery of aid and basic services. But the government has yet to respond,” Ahmed said.

The central government refused to comment on the situation saying that violence is affecting all Iraqis and it cannot concentrate only on Diyala in tackling violence.

From IRIN

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