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A mass grave, containing the bodies of around 40 men, was found by the Iraq's army in the western Iraqi city of Ramadi. The army believes that the men were executed by Daesh.

Photo by: AFP Archive

Members of Iraq's elite counterterrorism service secure the Hoz neighbourhood in central Ramadi, the capital of Iraq's Anbar province on December 27, 2015.

Iraqi troops have found a mass grave in the western city of Ramadi containing the bodies of 40 men believed to have been executed by Daesh, officials said on Friday.

It is the latest of dozens of such grisly finds made by Iraqi forces since they drove the extremists out of the swathes of northern and western Iraq that they had occupied in 2014.

Ammar Nuri al Dulaimi, an official from a Martyrs Committee for Anbar province, said the bodies had bullet wounds to the head, suggesting they were executed by Daesh.

An army colonel, who asked not to be named, said troops had uncovered the mass grave during a sweep of the Al Tach neighbourhood in the south of Ramadi, which is the capital of the Al Anbargovernate.

The army retook the city in December 2015.

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Mass grave discovered in former Daesh-held city in Iraq - TRT World

Donald Trump is wildly popular among the Kurds.

When comedian Samantha Bee traveled to northern Iraq, she was stunned to find Kurds, who are Muslim, who love Trump so much, one couple even named their son after the U.S. president.

This is my son, Trump. Ive called him Trump since the day he was born, one man told Bee, on her show Full Frontal With Samantha Bee.

When Bee asked why, he said: Well, he is angry, very angry, just like him. Although he is so little, sometimes I cannot handle him.

Added the wife of her adorable toddler: He beats us with his fists.

The Kurds, who number around 30 million, are spread out in Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria. The U.S. military has a long history of helping them fight for independence.

Trump became the first U.S. president to support the Department of Defenses plan to directly fund Kurds fighting ISIS.

See more here:
Samantha Bee finds Trump supporters in Iraq - New York Post

KEY FIGURES

837,900 Internally displaced Iraqis verified as being currently displaced from Mosul and surrounding areas since military operations to retake the city began on 17 October 20161

587,299 IDPs, returnees and members of the host community from Mosul and surrounding areas assisted by UNHCR since 17 October 2016.

263,756 Individuals (54,668 households) impacted by military operations to retake Mosul since October 2016 are currently enrolled in ASSIST, UNHCRs assistance tracking tool

3.3 million IDPs since January 20142

257,476 Iraqi refugees hosted in countries in the region, and 21,503 Iraqis received in camps in Hassakeh, Syria since 17 October 2016

FUNDING

POPULATION MOVEMENTS

Cumulatively, 1,077,444 individuals (179,574 families) have been displaced due to the conflict in Mosul. 239,544 individuals (39,924 families) have returned to their areas of origin, and 837,900 individuals (139,650 families) remain displaced, according to the International Organization for Migrations Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM).

New arrivals to camps have been static. Between 31 July and 1 August, 185 families arrived at camps south of Mosul, 157 families at camps east of Mosul, and 25 families to camps north of Mosul. An average of 10-15 families arriving to the camps each day have been in the camps previously and had returned from Mosul again largely due to lack of livelihood, high rents and prices of basic goods and security related concerns. During the same time, departures decreased in comparison with previous days, with 44 families leaving eastern Mosul camps and 87 families from southern Mosul camps.

Families from Tel Afar and Baaj (Ninewa Governorate) arrived at Hammam al-Alil screening site, 25 km south of Mosul. During 31 July to 1 August, 141 persons reached the screening site, and 93 persons departed for Hammam al-Alil 2 camp.

Decrease in new arrivals from Hawiga (Kirkuk Governorate). Reportedly, there has been an increase in checkpoints manned by armed groups along displacement routes. Between 31 July and 1 August, 13 families who had fled Hawiga and crossed through the Hamreen mountains reached Al-Alam camp in Salah al-Din Governorate.

SITUATION UPDATE

Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi stated on 2 August that the return of internally displaced persons (IDPs) was his first priority. The Government has adopted a timeline for IDP returns in retaken areas in Ninewa, including west Mosul, and efforts to restore basic services and clear explosive hazards were ongoing. The Prime Minister indicated that an advisory team from Mosul University was supporting the rehabilitation of the Mosul city.

According to the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), nearly 250 civilians were killed in Iraq in July, a drop in casualty figures from June, with the conclusion of major operations in Mosul. In June, 415 civilians were killed and 300 injured.

Around 12 million Iraqis reside in rural areas and depend on agriculture for their livelihoods. Years of conflict have destroyed or damaged harvests, equipment, infrastructure, livestock, seeds, crops and stored food and left 3.2 million Iraqis food insecure. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is working with mobile service providers to assist rural families in Iraq through newly adopted mobile money transfer technology as part of a cash-for-work programme to rehabilitate farming infrastructure.

RESPONSE UPDATE

UNHCR protection partner identified and assisted persons with specific needs. 30 cases were referred to specialised service providers in the Khazer, Hasansham, and Chamakor camps, east of Mosul. UNHCRs legal partner also conducted 126 legal consultations. In Debaga camps in Erbil Governorate, UNHCR partners have been supporting a campaign to prevent sexual harassments.

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Iraq Situation: UNHCR Flash Update - 3 August 2017 - ReliefWeb

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region Short message service (SMS) technology will allow thousands of rural farmers to be paid electronically and return to their agrarian livelihoods in areas of northern Iraq recently liberated from ISIS and in the Kurdistan Region.

They can then collect their wages from any certified money mobile transfer agent, provided their code and identity number match those registered.

The Belgium government-funded programme will support 12,000 conflict-affected people in 30 villages in Kirkuk, Anbar, Salahaddin and Nineveh governorates.

As well as providing much-needed income for participants, the programme will improve agricultural production in the surrounding communities, through activities including rehabilitating canals for irrigation to grow crops and preparing farmland for planting, said Fadel El-Zubi, FAO Representative in Iraq El-Zubi.

FAO and Iraqs Zain telecommunications have partnered for the cash-for-work programme.

This, in turn, will encourage community members still displaced by conflict to return home and begin farming again, Zubi added. FAOs aim is to support people to get back on their feet as quickly as possible, and reduce their reliance on food assistance.

As of 15 July, more than 3.3 million people remained displaced within Iraq, while about 2 million had returned home, according to UN data.

Around 12 million Iraqis live in rural areas and depend on agriculture for their livelihoods. Decades of conflict have destroyed fields, farms, infrastructure, livestock and crops. The use of mobile technology will streamline the safe delivery of cash transfers to participants, who are some of the most vulnerable people in the country, said Zubi.

FAO estimates $74.5 million is needed to assist 1.39 million people this year who work in the husbandry and agriculture industries.

In addition to fighting ISIS, the US-led global coalition is committed to stabilization. In March, they announced more than $2 billion of funding commitments from partners.

Tillerson explained that stabilization for the State Department means security through local law enforcement faces they recognize and restoring fundamental needs to the community power, water, sewage.

He added: We get the essentials in place. Were not there to rebuild their communities. Thats for them to do and thats for the international community to marshal the resources to allow them to do that.

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Mobile payment system in Iraq aims to help 12000 farmers return - Rudaw

A Catholic church destroyed by Islamic State militants in Karamdes, Iraq (CNS photo/Archdiocese of Erbil)

The Knights of Columbus are seeking to help Christians return to their homeland on the Nineveh Plain

In 2014, the Islamic State removed hundreds of families of religious minorities from their homes in Karamdes, a mostly Christian town on the Ninevah Plain in Iraq. Just over two years later, the town, also known as Karemlash, was liberated.

The Knights of Columbus will raise $2 million (1.5 million) to assist these families in returning to their homes, according to Knights CEO Carl Anderson, who announced their pledge at the Knights 135th annual Supreme Convention being held this week in St Louis.

The terrorists desecrated churches and graves and looted and destroyed homes, Anderson said in his annual report, which was livestreamed from the convention. Now we will ensure that hundreds of Christian families driven from their homes can return to these two locations and help to ensure a pluralistic future for Iraq.

The Knights are following the example of the Hungarian government, whose new spending bill allowed for $2 million to be sent to the Archdiocese of Erbil in Iraq, assisting with the rebuilding of a Christian community near Mosul, Iraq.

Families who were previously displaced from their homes were able to return to their homeland because of the government of Hungary. This example served as proof to the Knights of the impact of returning families to their homes.

The cost of resettling one family is around $2,000, the amount the Knights are encouraging councils, parishes and individuals to donate.

These Christian communities are a priceless treasure for the Church, Anderson said to the Knights attending the convention. They have every right to live.

The Knights have actively sought to provide humanitarian aid to Christians in Iraq, as well as Syria and the surrounding areas, donating over $13 million. In June Anderson joined Chris Smith, Republic congressman for New Jersey, and Anna Eshoo, Democrat congresswoman for California, in speaking at a press conference to urge the Senate to pass legislation that would provide US humanitarian aid to the Archdiocese of Erbil, after the House unanimously voted in favour of the bill.

Pope Francis commended the Knights for their work in the Middle East in a letter sent to the Knights at the convention from Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin. The Pope professed his gratitude for the commitment of the Knights to supporting our Christian brothers and sisters in the Middle East, according to the letter.

Pope Francis also described the Knights relief fund as an eloquent sign of your orders firm commitment to solidarity and communion with our fellow Christians.

In a press conference last month, Secretary of State spokeswoman Heather Nauert reaffirmed the use of the word genocide to describe the situation of Christians and other religious minorities in the Middle East.

When we look at Iraq and we look at what has happened to some of the Yazidis, some of the Christians, the secretary [Rex Tillerson] believes, and he firmly believes, that that was genocide, Nauert said.

In March 2016, then Secretary of State John Kerry first declared that ISIS militants actions in Iraq and Syria against minority Christian, Yazidi and Shiite Muslim groups was genocide.

The Knights of Columbus will also join the US Conference of Catholic Bishops for a Week of Awareness for persecuted Christians, which will begin on November 26 with a day of prayer for persecuted Christians.

In his annual report, Anderson urged each council of Knights to mark this day with highest priority.

Our work has truly changed history, Anderson said.

The work to rebuild Karamdes will begin in the first week of August and any funds raised will go directly to the project.

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Knights to send $2 million to restore Christian town in Iraq - Catholic Herald Online