Over 3 million Iraqis currently displaced

The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has said that over 3 million Iraqis have been internally displaced from January 2014 through to 30 July, 2015.

According to IOM’s Iraq Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM)  87 per cent of these displayed Iraqis are originally from three governates: Anbar (40 per cent of displayed persons) Nineva (33 per cent), and Salah Al-Din (14 per cent).

IOM’s Iraq Chief of Mission Thomas Lothar Weiss warned that displaced people in Iraq are even more vulnerable in the intense summer heat, noting that his organisation is working in cooperation with the UN Humanitarian Country Team, humanitarian partners and government authorities to provide shelter, health care and psychosocial support.

The escalation of fighting in Anbar between the Islamic State militant group and Iraqi forces have contributed to the growing waves of internally displaced people in Iraq.