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UN delivers aid to over 30,000 besieged people in northern Iraq

Xinhua, September 7, 2016 Adjust font size:

The World Food Program (WFP) has delivered food for more than 30,000 people in and around the northern Iraqi town of Qayyarah which was under siege over the last two years, said a UN spokesperson on Tuesday.

Stephane Dujarric told a daily briefing that the food rations will provide enough food for the besieged people for a full month.

"The people of Qayyarah had been living under siege for two years and are suffering extreme hunger with scarce access to food supplies. Reaching them with life-saving food assistance is a very positive step forward," said Sally Haydock, WFP Iraq Country Director.

The town of Qayyarah was freed by the Iraqi security forces in late August from the Islamic State (IS) militants. It will be taken as a staging ground for the government troops to free Iraq's last major IS stronghold in Mosul, some 400 km north of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad.

Ever since the IS militants took control of parts of its northern and western regions in June 2014, Iraq has witnessed increased violence. As a consequence, more than three million Iraqis have been displaced across the country and in need of humanitarian assistance. Enditem