Armenia to provide humanitarian assistance to refugees in Iraqi Kurdistan
The Armenian government decided to allocate $80,000 to the Consulate General of Armenia in Erbil, the administrative center of the Kurdish Autonomous Region (KAR) in northern Iraq, to provide humanitarian assistance to local Armenian families, as well as Yezidis, Kurds, and Assyrians in the camps of Iraqi Kurdistan.
Due to the crisis in the region, about 250 Armenian families have moved from the central regions of Iraq and the eastern regions of Syria to various settlements of the KAR in recent years. According to the Armenian community in Iraq, they have difficult living conditions and need urgent humanitarian assistance.
The funds allocated by the Armenian government will be spent on purchasing necessary goods and distributing assistance at about $100 per person. The balance of $30,000 will be allocated for the purchase of heaters and blankets for refugees from the Yezidis and other national minorities of Iraq and Syria living in various camps on the territory of the KAR.
Local authorities, the Patriarchy of the Armenian Apostolic Church in Iraq, and international humanitarian organizations periodically provide humanitarian assistance to refugees, which is not enough to ensure their normal life. There is a constant shortage of food, medicine, warm clothing, and other essentials. In addition to the Armenians, Yezidi refugees, internally deported Kurds, and Assyrians living in the camps of Iraqi Kurdistan found themselves in difficult living conditions, Armenian media noted on Thursday.