US embassy cable - 04AMMAN3149

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 003149 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID, IZ, PHUM, PREF, PREL, JO 
SUBJECT: UNAMI'S VIEW OF HUMANITARIAN SITUATION IN IRAQ 
 
 
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Summary 
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1. (SBU) In an April 20 donor coordination meeting UNAMI 
Humanitarian Officer Wojtek Wilk reported that 50,000 to 
100,000 IDPs have fled Fallujah to Baghdad.  He noted the 
problems relief agencies face providing aid in Fallujah and 
unconfirmed reports of a possible new movement of Iranian 
Kurds from Al-Tash refugee camp to the Jordanian border. 
Fallujah municipal council members are reportedly in Amman 
meeting with GOJ officials and the donor community to discuss 
relief.  UNAMI Chief of Strategic Planning, Michael Dalton, 
said one of the key issues for the April 22 International 
Reconstruction Fund Facility for Iraq (IRFFI) meeting in 
Washington is to check the progress of aid pledges from 
various donors.  UNSECOORD rep Peter Fry made the observation 
that insurgent activity appeared to be increasingly 
coordinated.  We report these views without assessing their 
validity.  End Summary. 
 
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Humanitarian Situation in Iraq 
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2. (SBU) In a meeting with the donor community on April 20, 
United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) 
Humanitarian Officer Wojtek Wilk provided an update on the 
humanitarian situation in Iraq.  He reported a sizeable 
increase in the number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) 
fleeing Fallujah to Baghdad, noting that between 50,000 to 
100,000 civilians are believed to have been displaced.  3,000 
IDP families are receiving assistance at three major transit 
points outside Fallujah, set up in local mosques.  UNAMI 
estimates that another 8,000 families are receiving 
assistance from relatives, friends or mosques in the Baghdad 
area.  Up to 50,000 additional IDPs may have taken refuge in 
villages around Fallujah.  UNAMI has heard reports of new 
movements of Iranian Kurds from the Al-Tash refugee camp 
toward the no-man's land at the Jordanian border due to high 
tension levels in Al Ramadi.  (UNHCR told refcoord on April 
22 that these reports have not been confirmed). 
 
3. (SBU) UNAMI continues to be concerned by the humanitarian 
situation within Fallujah and Najaf.  In Fallujah, UNAMI is 
concerned about recent reports of a few wounded Iraqis 
arrested at the Fallujah hospital by coalition forces, 
fearing this will discourage other wounded from seeking 
medical attention.  The overall number of casualties within 
Fallujah is unclear as many may be buried--alive or 
dead--under homes.  Reports from within Fallujah cite the 
lack of fresh food and conflicting accounts of fresh water 
shortages as troubling.  Paul Filler, head of the European 
Commission Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO) Iraq Mission 
(currently based in Amman), said that a small group of 
Fallujah municipal council members are in Amman meeting with 
GOJ officials and the donor community to discuss aid relief 
to the city.  He stressed that the trip is not to discuss the 
political situation or criticize the CPA.  In Najaf, UNAMI 
claimed that the occupation of the main hospital by coalition 
military personnel discouraged local people from seeking 
treatment.  Outside the main hospital, there is only one 
operating room in the city, in a maternity clinic. 
 
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Strategic Planning and IRFFI 
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4. (SBU) Michael Dalton, Chief of UNAMI Strategic Planning, 
said that the 10 agency clusters--different UN agencies 
grouped together for ease of planning and coordination--are 
in the process of finalizing plans for the UN Trust Fund 
meeting in Amman on May 3, 2004.  They have a tight, 
well-organized rollout strategy and need only work out the 
details.  Dalton noted that the April 22 International 
Reconstruction Fund Facility for Iraq (IRFFI) meeting in 
Washington would check the progress of aid pledges from 
various donors. 
 
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Security Update 
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5. (SBU) UNSECOORD's Peter Fry stressed that insurgent 
activity continues with what he saw as increasing 
coordination.  He pointed to Kirkuk as the tension point 
between the Kurds and northern Sunni elements.  On the 
political-religious front, al-Sadr's position of strength is 
yet undetermined, but he appeals to the youth.  He reported 
signs of Sunni fundamentalist "oppression" of fellow Iraqis 
in the central region, as well as IGC members disassociating 
themselves from coalition forces.  Fry worries that the 
recent kidnappings will continue with greater frequency amid 
rumors of significant bounties offered to kidnap Americans 
and NGO personnel.  Fry did not comment on the security 
situation after June 30, 2004, stating that it was too far 
away.  On the Jordanian front, he reported that locals 
deliberately threw soda cans at 2 NGO workers while driving 
in Amman the other day. 
 
6. (U) Baghdad minimize considered. 
 
Visit Embassy Amman's classified website at 
 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/amman/ 
 
or access the site through the State Department's SIPRNET 
home page. 
HALE