CHAMCHAMAL, Iraq, 20 March 2003—Tens of thousands of people were yesterday pouring into northern Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region from government-controlled areas, but even after having to abandon their possessions most were relieved to have escaped with their lives. However, the few aid workers still here described the growing exodus from northern cities such as Kirkuk as a potentially catastrophic humanitarian emergency that organizations like the United Nations had failed to prepare for.
You could describe this as an emergency. These are people who have
no assistance in terms of food, shelter or medical care,
Steve
Priestly from the British-based Mines Advisory Group told
AFP. Priestly's team was handing out land mine awareness leaflets
at a checkpoint near Chamchamal, where thousands of people were
arriving after having walked across Iraqi Army front lines.
Abandoning their vehicles at Iraqi Army lines, a stream of at least 1,000 people were seen making the one-kilometer-long walk down a road to this Iraqi Kurdish rebel-held town. Behind them was a long mountain ridge where Iraqi troops were dug in. Most were ethnic Kurds who had fled the key northern oil capital of Kirkuk 40 kilometers from here, while some had made the journey north from Baghdad.
In the past two days, an estimated 30,000 people have crossed into the eastern part of Iraqi Kurdistan, controlled since 1991 by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). Thousands more have crossed illegally, while others were heading into territory held by the rival Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), desperately trying to get out of government-controlled areas in the countdown to a US and British invasion.
The area is also home to some 130,000 people, mainly Kurds, forced out
of Kirkuk and its surrounding areas in recent years. One of the
concerns we have is that key agencies are either not represented here
or have suspended their programs,
said Priestly, whose agency was
the only group here to greet the exodus. There is nobody here to
meet them. It is quite cold and there were thunderstorms
overnight. Some villagers have been taking people in but this is not
an ideal situation. There are only so many people who can be absorbed
with family, and last night our teams saw people sleeping rough,
he said.
All United Nations expatriate staff have been pulled out of the north,
and the displaced people were not being met with any
assistance. Even though they are obviously relieved to have got
here they are at high risk from land mines laid during the Iran-Iraq
war or the factional fighting of the 90s,
Priestly explained.
But even after having abandoned their possessions, bribed their way
through army checkpoints and carrying nothing but the clothes on their
back, most fleeing residents were just happy over having escaped from
what is expected to be a massive air assault. Everyone in Kirkuk
was terrified and everyone is trying to get out. There is now an
all-day curfew but we managed to slip out this morning,
said
Hassan Abdullah, a 27-year-old Kurd seen walking across the front line
with his heavily pregnant wife and three daughters
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