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Baghdad, Iraq, June 6, 2016 —  At least three children and an elderly man drowned in the Euphrates River over the weekend as they attempted to flee the Iraqi city of Fallujah. Since Friday, displaced Iraqis have been amassing at the riverbank in Al Masadan as they make their way to displacement camps in Ameriyah al Fallujah. At least 200 people have successfully crossed the river using inflatable rings or makeshifts rafts made up of refrigerators and tires.

It was reported to the ̽����ѡ that all boats on this stretch of the Euphrates were destroyed by ISIS, leaving people with no choice but to make the crossing on makeshift rafts. The ̽����ѡ was also told one man was killed by an ISIS fighter for refusing to transport him across the river.

The ̽����ѡ’s Iraq Country Director, Aleksander Milutinovic, said: “The world has become used to seeing refugees risking everything by crossing the open sea and are now seeing reminiscent scenes at the Euphrates River. From dawn to dusk, desperate Iraqis are risking their lives by crossing the river by any means necessary. The Iraqi authorities urgently need to provide safe passage for all those fleeing Fallujah to ensure their lives aren’t further placed at risk.”

The ̽����ѡ has been identifying some of the most vulnerable people who have made the crossing in recent days, including very young children and blind and physically disabled older people. The ̽����ѡ is also helping many displaced Iraqis obtain replacement identity documents destroyed or lost during the crossing. Without these documents it can be very hard to access food rations in displacement camps.           

While 50,000 civilians are still thought to be trapped inside the city of Fallujah, around 15,000 people have managed to flee areas affected by the conflict around the city in the last two weeks. ̽����ѡ teams are supporting nearly 550 people who have arrived in recent days at Al Ahel displacement camp, Abu Ghraib, near Baghdad, after fleeing the Karma and Saqlawiyah areas of eastern Fallujah.

As well as providing legal assistance and helping new arrivals at the camp recover lost identity documents, ̽����ѡ teams are identifying any individuals in need of urgent humanitarian assistance, including a 14-year-old child who was seriously injured by mortar fire and transported to a nearby hospital. 

The ̽����ѡ is helping provide 70 infants under the age of five with milk and diapers, as well as ensuring everyone has enough food, drinking water and clothing. The ̽����ѡ is also seeking to provide air coolers in the camp with day temperatures reaching 45 degrees centigrade and high night-time temperatures are forcing many to sleep outside. The ̽����ѡ is also working to ensure women have privacy and access to separate bathrooms. The new arrivals join around 1,000 people who have lived in Al Ahel camp since fleeing from other towns and villages in Anbar at the beginning of 2016.