Iraq: Al Tash camp conditions reported to be bleak

Last week we mentioned our concerns about the fate of Iranian-Kurd refugees in Al Tash camp near Ramadi and that because of the difficult security conditions in the area our implementing partners did not have access to the camp. For the past two weeks, the camp had been cut off from outside help because of fighting in the region. On Monday, three people from the Iraqi Ministry of Displacement and Migration managed to get into Al Tash camp. Officials found the situation inside the camp bleak with no water supply or electricity. The health centre and police post have not been working for the past ten days. Food, however, has reached the camp through the public distribution system, which targets both Iraqi and refugee populations.

Until earlier this month, Al Tash was home to some 4,200 Iranian Kurd refugees. About a third of the refugees fled when fighting flared up in the area, which is located about fifty kilometres away from Fallujah. The Ministry officials told UNHCR that most of the refugees remaining in the camp want to leave because they feel unsafe.