The U.S. said Tuesday it is contributing $20 million in humanitarian aid to the United Nations' effort to help the thousands of refugees who have fled fighting in the Iraqi city of Fallujah.
Iraqi forces last week retook Fallujah from Islamic State fighters, who had held it for two years. But the U.N. estimates that about 85,000 Fallujah residents who have fled the city west of the capital, Baghdad, urgently need assistance. The U.N. Central Emergency Relief Fund released $17.5 million Monday to help.
The U.S. said its aid is part of a larger package of humanitarian assistance it plans to announce later in the year, noting that more than 3.3 million Iraqis have been forced to move within Iraq since 2014 to avoid the fighting.
The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees has identified camp coordination and management of the refugees, as well as protection of those fleeing Fallujah, as its most urgent needs. The U.N. said it also has water, food, shelter and sanitation needs. The U.S. urged other countries to help meet the U.N.'s call for more money to help the refugees.
