Some 80,000 people newly displaced by conflict in Iraq since March

Approximately 80,000 people have been newly displaced by escalating armed conflict in Iraq since the beginning of March, a UN spokesman said here Thursday, citing the UN humanitarian agency OCHA.

"New displacement has occurred in three areas: the Anbar corridor, the Mosul corridor, and in northern Salah al-Din," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said at a daily news briefing here.

Iraqi security forces and allied armed groups have intensified operations against the Islamic State militants.

"Humanitarian assistance is being provided to affected people in all locations, including through provision of ready-to-eat food, water, sanitation facilities and shelter support," he said.

"Insecurity, strict security screening procedures, the remote location of displaced people, serious protection concerns, and overcrowded camps, however, remain critical challenges," Dujarric said.

In addition, hundreds of thousands of civilians remain trapped in areas effectively under siege -- like Fallujah -- and lack access to regular humanitarian assistance, he noted.

In addition to nearly 1 million Iraqis displaced since a civil war in 2006-2007, the UN agency UNHCR said, more than 3.3 million have been displaced since 2014, when Islamic State militants took control of vast swathes of territory in northern and western Iraq. Endit