Food,
medicine, electricity and fuel are increasingly scarce in Jazira, the
river plain area of Mesopotamia which encompasses northwestern Iraq and
northeastern Syria.
With the influx of Syrians fleeing the conflict in
their country, Jazira’s population of 1 and a half million has swelled
to some 2 million and Church and humanitarian officials are raising the
alarm, saying not enough is being done to help them.
Syria’s
Catholic Archbishop Jacques Behnan Hindo of Hassaké-Nisibis has
appealed to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization and to
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki for immediate humanitarian aid to
the thousands of Syrian refugees in the Jazira region.
Most have flooded
the area from Homs, Damascus and Aleppo and Deir- Ez-Zor.
Fides News Agency reports that Archbishop Hindo says the situation is worsening and “could soon become catastrophic."
The
Archbishop says essential goods and fuel are becoming a rarity because
of looting and the interruption of supply routes. Syria’s Upper
Mesopotamia is connected to Mosul, Iraq by one international road.
The
lack of fuel is preventing people from heating their homes and is
stopping farmers from planting crops at the start of the season in this
rich agricultural zone. Baby formula and medicines, particularly
antibiotics are disappearing.
In a letter sent to Prime Minister
Nuri al-Maliki, Fides reports that Archbishop Hindo made an urgent
appeal for 600 fuel tanks, gasoline and several tons of flour.