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Iraq conflict: UK offers £3m in emergency aid | Iraq conflict: UK offers £3m in emergency aid |
(35 minutes later) | |
The UK will provide an initial £3m in emergency aid to help civilians fleeing the Islamist insurgency in Iraq, the government has said. | The UK will provide an initial £3m in emergency aid to help civilians fleeing the Islamist insurgency in Iraq, the government has said. |
International Development Secretary Justine Greening said the package included clean water, medicine and protection for vulnerable women. | International Development Secretary Justine Greening said the package included clean water, medicine and protection for vulnerable women. |
Hundreds of thousands of people have fled their homes after insurgents seized the cities of Mosul and Tikrit. | Hundreds of thousands of people have fled their homes after insurgents seized the cities of Mosul and Tikrit. |
Ms Greening said Iraq faced "serious humanitarian need". | Ms Greening said Iraq faced "serious humanitarian need". |
Mass movement | |
The insurgents, from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) have been moving closer to Baghdad, with Kurdish militants responding in some areas. | The insurgents, from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) have been moving closer to Baghdad, with Kurdish militants responding in some areas. |
After officials from the Department for International Development (DfID) were deployed to Iraq on Thursday, Ms Greening has activated the UK's Rapid Response Facility, which provides emergency support using a network of pre-approved organisations. | |
Basic household items and "women-friendly hygiene kits" will also be provided, and United Nations teams will be sent into refugee camps to protect women and girls, said DfID. | |
Ms Greening said the UK's contribution would include support for the UNHCR [UN High Commissioner for Refugees] to provide "dedicated safety and welfare teams to protect vulnerable women". | |
The UNHCR has said local authorities estimate that up to 300,000 people fled Mosul in the past few days - joining the more than 500,000 displaced by the conflict in Anbar province earlier. | |
Save the Children said the crisis was "one of the largest and swiftest mass movements of people in the world in recent memory". | |
Foreign Secretary William Hague has said Britain could offer counter-terrorism expertise, while former Defence Secretary Liam Fox said the idea of sending troops back to Iraq should not be ruled out. |