Following heavy fighting in Sinjar (Ninewa), nearly 200,000 people have been forced from their homes and are in urgent need of life-saving assistance.
According to most recent report, thousands of families are still trapped on Sinjar Mountain without access to food or water, despite limited airdrops on 8 August.
Between January to July 2014, an estimation of 1.2 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) were seeking shelter in Northern Iraq. In addition to the current IDP crisis, the government of Kurdistan is also hosting 230,000 refugees from Syria.
The refugees are now suffering from significant secondary displacement due to the fierce fightings near IDP locations in Ninewa and Dahuk Provinces.
Background on the crisis
Since this January, a large part of Anbar has been under ISIS control. This has led to approximately 560,000 Iraqi people fleeing to the northern part of Iraq. Following the fall of Mousal in June, an estimate of another 650,000 persons have fled to Kurdistan Region as well.
Samira Said, 27, fled Tikrit with her 20-day old baby for an agricultural shelter area next to the Baharka camp 5km north of Erbil, the capital of the northern semi-autonomous Kurdish region of Iraq, after the militant group ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) took control of Iraq’s second largest city, Mosul.
Our hearts are breaking at the atrocities taking place in Iraq. In the last two months a staggering 850,000 people have fled their homes in terror as Islamic State (IS) fighters have swept across the north of the country. An estimated 10,000 people have lost their lives, most of whom are civilians.
Religious and ethnic minority groups, such as Yazidis (a Kurdish-speaking ethno-religious group), Christians and Turkmen, have been particularly targeted, and many have been subjected to unspeakable brutalities. It’s estimated that one-fourth of Iraq’s Christians have now fled, threatened by IS at best with fines, at worst with forced conversion or death.
Thousands of Iraqis, mainly from the Yazidi community, are currently trapped on Mount Sinjar in northern Iraq by IS fighters after facing similar threats. They are in desperate need of food, water and medical care, and symbolise the plight of so many more Iraqis who are the innocent victims of this crisis.
Between January to July 2014, an estimation of 1.2 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) were seeking shelter in Northern Iraq. They are now suffering from significant secondary displacement due to fierce fightings near IDP locations in Ninewa and Dahuk Provinces. In addition to the current IDP crisis, the government of Kurdistan is also hosting 230,000 refugees from Syria.
Since 2012, Integral Alliance (IA), a global alliance comprising of 19 Christian relief and development agencies, has been providing relief materials, food parcel, medical care and psychosocial care to Syrian refugees. CEDAR is one of the member agencies of Integral Alliance. A member agency of IA is now forming a working team, going to Northern Iraq to assess the situation particularly the need of the suffered communities.
We know that God is a God of love, compassion, power and justice, who is ‘mighty to save’ (Isaiah 63:1). As we struggle to find words to respond in the face of such horror, remember Paul’s words in Romans: ‘We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.’ (Romans 8:26). [Tearfund, Integral Alliance]
Pray for the suffering Iraq people:
Ask God to stop the hand of those set on violence, bloodshed and intimidation in Iraq. Pray for the establishment of a lasting peace that all people groups will be accepted and protected.
Pray for all those who have fled their homes and are living in fear and uncertainty.
Ask God to keep them safe, provide for their needs and pour out his comfort and healing on all who are grieving.
Thank God that thousands of Yazidis were able to escape from Mount Sinjar during last weekend, aided by Kurdish forces, and pray for protection, provision and a rapid rescue for those who remain.
Lift up leaders in Iraq and around the world, praying that God will give them wisdom as they seek a solution to the crisis.
Iraq is experiencing one of the largest internal population displacements in the world and the recent surge in sectarian violence threatens to unleash a wave of new violence against women and girls.
Since the beginning of 2014, the UN estimates as many as 1.2 million people have been uprooted due to fighting between militants from Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/ISIS), local Sunni tribes, Shia militias and the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF).
According to the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), more than 7,000 people were killed in the last six months and more than 13,000 injured. In the month of June alone, UNAMI recorded 2,417 deaths and 2,287 injuries. This is the highest month of casualty rate since 2007, the peak of Iraq’s sectarian civil war in the aftermath of the 2003 US-led invasion.
Shortly after the conquest of Mosul, the second largest city in Iraq, ISIS militants armed with assault rifles went door to door taking “women who are not owned” for Jihad Al-Nikad, or sex jihad. In just one week (Jun 9 – 12), women’s rights activists documented 13 cases of women who were kidnapped and raped by the militants who also forced men to watch the rape of their wives, daughters and sisters. Of the 13 women, four of them committed suicide out of shame; one woman’s brother even committed suicide because he could not bear the guilt of his inability to protect his sister.
Before the conflicts, it was already difficult being a woman in Iraq, but the current wave of conflicts threatens to make life even worse for them. UN Population Fund (UNFPA) warned at the beginning of this month that an estimated 20,000 women and girls in Iraq are at an increased risk of sexual violence as a result of the mounting crisis in the north and west. It also raised public attention that the violence in northern Iraq in the past month has displaced approximately one million people, in which there are 250,000 women and girls, and including nearly 60, 000 pregnant women, are all in need of urgent health care and protection.
Women and girls have often been the center of sexual and gender-based violence amidst conflicts around the world. Let us pray for the displaced people of Iraq, especially for women and girls who are most vulnerable amidst conflicts. [IPS, UN]
Meditation on Scriptures:
‘You, Lord, hear the desire of the afflicted;
You encourage them, and You listen to their cry,
defending the fatherless and the oppressed,
so that mere earthly mortals will never again strike terror.’ (Psalm 10:17-18)
Pray for Iraq that:
The leaders of the Iraqi government, ISIS and religious sects can actively participate in the settlement of the current conflicts in Iraq.
The rights of women and girls in Iraq will be protected.
The required support (esp. funds) in continuing life-saving humanitarian assistance will be met.
The Christians living in Iraq will not be persecuted amidst the sectarian conflicts.
The conflict has its roots in protests that erupted in mid-March 2011 in the southern city of Deraa, after the arrest and torture of some teenagers who painted revolutionary slogans on a school wall. Syria’s crisis enters its forth year and fighting in Syria between government forces and opposing groups continues to escalate. More than 100,000 lives have been lost and over 2.5 million Syrians have registered as refugees in neighbouring countries including Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt. With displacement inside Syria reaches over 6.5 million, the total number of people in flight internally and externally now exceeds 40% of Syria’s pre-conflict population. At least half of the displaced are children. UNHCR predicts the refugee population in the surrounding region will grow to become the largest refugee population in the world.
With a population of around 4.1 million, Lebanon already has the highest per-capita concentration of refugees of any country in recent history, with nearly 230 registered Syrian refugees for every 1,000 Lebanese. Syria’s neighbouring countries, including Lebanon and Jordan, have shown incredible generosity in continuing to offer a safe refuge for people fleeing the crisis. However, drastically increased numbers of arrivals lead to the consequence that basic services and facilities are stretched to the limit. Worse of all, more and more Syrians are putting their lives at the mercy of human smugglers.
This is the most severe humanitarian crisis in the 21st century. The unending cycle of violence, displacement, worsening health, disruption to education and learning put millions of Syrians at risk. A generation, with over 5 million Syrian children, is also at risk of being lost forever. The United Nations stressed the need for a political solution to end the conflict. Only with a political intervention will Syria and her people be rescued from further devastation.
Since 2012, Integral Alliance, a global alliance comprising of 19 Christian relief and development agencies, has been providing relief materials, food parcel, medical care and psychosocial care to Syrian refugees. CEDAR is one of the member agencies of Integral Alliance. Let us pray for Syrian refugees continually. May peace and hope prevail in Syria. [Integral Alliance, Tearfund UK, UNHCR, UN]
Meditate on Hymn:
‘Let Your Heart Be Broken’
May this hymn be your prayers and will:
Let your heart be broken for a world in need: Feed the mouths that hunger, soothe the wounds that bleed,
Give the cup of water and the loaf of bread
Be the hands of Jesus, serving in His stead.
Here on earth applying principles of love,
Visible expression God still rules above
Living illustration of the Living Word
To the minds of all whove Never seen or heard.
Blest to be a blessing privileged to care,
Challenged by the need apparent everywhere.
Where mankind is wanting, fill the vacant place.
Be the means through which the Lord reveals His grace.
Add to your believing deeds that prove it true,
Knowing Christ as Savior, make Him Master, too.
Follow in His footsteps, go where He has trod;
In the worlds great trouble risk yourself for God.
Let your heart be tender and your vision clear;
See mankind as God sees, serve Him far and near.
Let your heart be broken by a brothers pain;
Share your rich resources, give and give again.
Pray for Syria that:
International communities and leaders put most efforts to support an immediate end to the Syrian war;
More support including financial assistance be given to Syria’s neighbouring countries such as Lebanon, from which protect and host can be provided to Syrian refugees;
Lives and basic needs of Syrian refugees are secured and the refugees can return home soon.
The number of Syrians forced to seek shelter abroad since civil war began in March 2011 passed the 2 million mark, which is a jump of almost 1.8 million from last year. There is an average of almost 5,000 Syrians fleeing into neighbouring countries every day. It is said that Syrian had become a disgraceful humanitarian calamity with suffering and displacement unparalleled in recent history. Some 52 per cent of this population are children aged 17 years or below and the number of Syrian child refugees had exceeded 1 million. A further 4.25 million people are displaced inside Syria. In view of the pressure the refugee exodus is placing on surrounding countries, including the worsening economic impact, ministers from Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey will meet with UNHCR in Geneva in a bid to accelerate international support. [UNHCR]
Pray for Syrian refugees:
Pray for cease of civil war in Syrian and people are able to live in peace ;
Pray for humanitarian aid to alleviate people suffering and provide the required support to neighbouring countries;
Remember the refugees and displaced people that they can go back to their homeland soon and rebuild their homes
[ePrayer – Pray for the situation of undocumented children]
It is estimated that there are between 1.6 and 3.8 million irregular migrants in the European Union. Many of them are children. Most come from other European countries like Turkey, Hungary and Romania, but a large number also come from Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria. The reason for migration includes family reunification, protection from persecution, better living conditions, education and economic opportunities. A large number of these undocumented children, mostly from Hungary and Romania, are also victims of trafficking. They can be exploited in prostitution, forced labour, organised begging and can be compelled to commit crimes. [IPS]
Pray for the situation of undocumented children:
Pray that the basic human rights of these Europe’s ‘invisible’ children can be protected.
Pray also that they can have access to education, healthcare and shelter.
Pray that there can be effective measures to combat human trafficking and to reduce the risk of children.
