(Baghdad/Erbil, 20 February 2016): The United
Nations is deeply worried about thousands of civilians who are trapped
in Fallujah and in Sinjar district. “Urgent steps need to be taken to
alleviate the suffering of people struggling to survive in Iraq. As
humanitarians, we have a common responsibility to save lives. We ask the
Government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government to uphold
their obligations under humanitarian law and redouble their efforts to
facilitate the evacuation and relocation of civilians to safer areas
with food, water and medical care,” said Lise Grande, the UN’s
Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq.
Although the UN is unable to access civilians in Fallujah city in Anbar Governorate, which remains under the control of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), information from key informants indicates that conditions are deteriorating rapidly. “We are receiving reports of hunger and shortages of medicines and essential supplies. We know that people are trying to leave the city but are prevented from doing so; we fear that the situation is becoming desperate,” said Ms. Grande.
“We are also profoundly worried about the situation in Ninewa Governorate, where more than 520 people, including an estimated 250 children, have been stranded for three months between military frontlines east of Sinjar Mountain,” said Ms. Grande. “It’s the middle of winter and these people are unable to access food, water, shelter and medical assistance. Ensuring that civilians are safe is one of our highest priorities. We call on all parties to do whatever is necessary to ensure that civilians are protected; allowing these families to cross into Government-controlled areas would dramatically improve their situation. This is about saving civilian lives,” said Ms. Grande.
More than three million people have been forced to flee their homes in Iraq since January 2014.
The United Nations estimates that an additional three million people are living under ISIL control in Iraq. More than 500,000 civilians have returned to their homes following military campaigns to bring areas under Government control.
For further information, please contact: Cecilia Attefors, Humanitarian Affairs Officer, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Iraq, (attefors@un.org /+964 (0)751 1352880)
Although the UN is unable to access civilians in Fallujah city in Anbar Governorate, which remains under the control of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), information from key informants indicates that conditions are deteriorating rapidly. “We are receiving reports of hunger and shortages of medicines and essential supplies. We know that people are trying to leave the city but are prevented from doing so; we fear that the situation is becoming desperate,” said Ms. Grande.
“We are also profoundly worried about the situation in Ninewa Governorate, where more than 520 people, including an estimated 250 children, have been stranded for three months between military frontlines east of Sinjar Mountain,” said Ms. Grande. “It’s the middle of winter and these people are unable to access food, water, shelter and medical assistance. Ensuring that civilians are safe is one of our highest priorities. We call on all parties to do whatever is necessary to ensure that civilians are protected; allowing these families to cross into Government-controlled areas would dramatically improve their situation. This is about saving civilian lives,” said Ms. Grande.
More than three million people have been forced to flee their homes in Iraq since January 2014.
The United Nations estimates that an additional three million people are living under ISIL control in Iraq. More than 500,000 civilians have returned to their homes following military campaigns to bring areas under Government control.
For further information, please contact: Cecilia Attefors, Humanitarian Affairs Officer, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Iraq, (attefors@un.org /+964 (0)751 1352880)
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs:
To learn more about OCHA's activities, please visit http://unocha.org/.
A friend with the UN asked if we'd note that and we will.
Gladly.
But other things . . .
Try to do someone a damn favor . . .
WikiLeaks.
Yesterday's snapshot opened with:
Today, WikiLeaks announced:
Today, 23 February 2016 at 00:00 GMT, WikiLeaks publishes highly classified documents showing that the NSA bugged meetings between UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon's and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, between Israel prime minister Netanyahu and Italian prime minister Berlusconi, between key EU and Japanese trade ministers discussing their secret trade red-lines at WTO negotiations, as well as details of a private meeting between then French president Nicolas Sarkozy, Merkel and Berlusconi.
The documents also reveal the content of the meetings from Ban Ki Moon's strategising with Merkel over climate change, to Netanyahu's begging Berlusconi to help him deal with Obama, to Sarkozy telling Berlusconi that the Italian banking system would soon "pop like a cork".
Some documents are classified TOP-SECRET / COMINT-GAMMA and are the most highly classified documents ever published by a media organization.
WikiLeaks editor Julian Assange said "Today we showed that UN Secretary General Ban KiMoon's private meetings over how to save the planet from climate change were bugged by a country intent on protecting its largest oil companies. We previously published Hillary Clinton orders that US diplomats were to steal the Secretary General's DNA. The US government has signed agreements with the UN that it will not engage in such conduct against the UN--let alone its Secretary General. It will be interesting to see the UN's reaction, because if the Secretary General can be targetted without consequence then everyone from world leader to street sweeper is at risk."
When Bully Boy Bush was tapping the United Nations ahead of the start of the Iraq War, there was outrage. There's not even a mild rebuke of US President Barack Obama over this.
All this illegal spying is not about keeping anyone safe.
And still that's apparently not good enough.
Hey your glass is empty
it's a hell of a long way home
why don't you let me take you
it's no good to go alone
I never would have opened up
but you seemed so real to me
after all the bulls**t I've heard
it's refreshing not to see
I don't have to pretend
she doesn't expect it from me
Don't tell me I haven't been good to you
don't tell me I have never been there for you
don't tell me why
nothing is good enough
-- "Good Enough," written by Sarah McLachlan, appears on FUMBLING TOWARDS ECSTASY and a live version appears on MIRRORBALL
We opened the snapshot with it.
I'm sorry that wasn't good enough for you.
I also bit my tongue.
Since that wasn't good enough for you, let me say what I wanted to last night.
How chicken s**t are you?
Hillary?
Hillary's the only person you can name?
She's not president and she's not even in the Cabinet currently.
The spying you're exposing was ordered by Barack Obama, the President of the United States.
But you're too much of a coward to name him.
The reason you're holed up in that embassy?:
Barack.
But you're too much of a coward to fight him.
You did go after Hillary.
Which wasn't a smart thing since you're holed up because of what you allegedly did to women.
Not really smart on your part.
I ignored all of that because of your plea to help get the word out.
But to then receive your long whine that I didn't do this and I didn't do that and . . .
I don't work for WikiLeaks.
I'm also not your assistant.
You got noted, that was more than fair on my part.
We're done. Walk away.
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