The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has urged the international community to help the people of Iraq. The ICRC is appealing for an extra 38.5 million dollars in aid.
According to the ICRC, there are currently around 2.7 million internally displaced people in the country, compared to around 300,000 in early 2014. The rise is due to the intensification of fighting in different parts of the country.
"Vital infrastructure has been damaged in areas affected by fighting. Basic services such as health and water have been severely affected. The extra money will enable us to provide aid for nearly 900,000 people. The provision of clean water will be a key priority as the hot summer begins," the ICRC's director of operations, Dominik Stillhart, who is on a five-day visit to Iraq.
"This extra funding will also be used to support health facilities which have been severely damaged or destroyed during the fighting," TASS cited him as saying.
Stillhart stressed that now the displaced people are living in "appalling conditions" and "some of these displaced people have also been subject to attacks and intimidation".
