Summary
Content
Bulletin No 21
as of 17 July 2003
In addition sector/country specific reports are released regularly in order to provide in-depth coverage of priority areas.
Contact details for all UNJLC offices are available on the UNJLC website.
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CONTENTS
The Coalition is now effectively withdrawing from the Jordan/Iraqi border leaving behind a skeletal staff of 10 personnel. There is a concern that the security situation may deteriorate at the border. Baghdad airport is still not open for commercial traffic. The recent (failed) missile attack on a Military Transport Aircraft adds to the security concerns around this airport. There is increased and heightened security in Baghdad this week in response to a number of significant anniversaries associated with the previous regime. 2. SECURITYIraq: Baghdad: Security phase 4. There is increased and heightened security in Baghdad this week in response to a number of significant anniversaries associated with the previous regime. This particularly applies to the 17th July which is the anniversary of the Ba’ath party taking power in Iraq in 1958 and Saddam Hussein taking control of the party in 1979. Agencies which are not MOSS compliant have been asked to leave Baghdad. Mosul: Security phase 4. Several threats and attacks have been made towards the local authorities and international community in Mosul and Kirkuk. This has prompted the UN to prevent the overnighting of staff in either of those locations until the 19th July. Basrah: Security phase 4. More than 2,000 policemen have been retrained and are now back on duty in the city. 500 men have also been hired and trained to form the core of the Basrah river services. Al Hillah: Security phase 4. UNSECOORD recommends the use of Highway 8 for all travel between the two locations. Update: Please note that as of the 20th of July, UNSECOORD has classified all routes between Al-Hillah and Baghdad as 'no go' zones due to serious security concerns. No security clearance will be issued for humanitarian missions between these two locations until further notice. Official travel between Baghdad and Al Hilla must be conducted through the Al Kut (highway 6 and 7) in both directions.
Jordan: The country remains at security phase 1. Kuwait: The country remains at security phase 1. A complete daily listing of security incidents can be found in the “latest press releases” section of the www.centcom.mil. 3. AIR OPERATIONSThe security situation has produced considerable disruption to UN Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) flights in the past week. Incidents in the Mosul area in the first week of July, caused the Boeing 737 schedule for Amman, Mosul, Basrah and return to Amman on 8 Jul 03 to be revised to miss out Mosul. UNHAS are currently operating a Beechcraft 1900 on the route Amman, Baghdad, Erbil and return by the same route 3 times a week. The disruption has also affected flights to Baghdad with delays and cancellations. Speculation concerning the reopening of Baghdad to commercial air traffic continues. It appears that the airport did not re-open on the 15th as previously announced. The recently reported missile attack on military transport aircraft approaching Baghdad simply adds to the security concerns around this airport. It has been reported that Qatari Airlines have made a proving flight into Basrah Int’l Airport. Discussions continue about Basrah opening up to regular commercial flights. International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) has nominated an expert to work alongside UNJLC in developing civilian SAR procedures for eventual publication as an annex to the AIP for Iraq. The ICAO expert is due to arrive in Amman on 13 August. CFACC has promised to collaborate in this important project. UNHAS Aircraft Assets and Utilisation The UNHAS fleet currently consists of one Boeing 737 and 2 Beechcraft 1900 aircraft based at Amman Marka Airport. Since its welcome return on 8 July, the Belgian Air Force C130 has made one flight into Baghdad and 5 flights from Dubai to Erbil. The government of Japan has generously placed a C130 at the disposal of the UN. This aircraft is based at Marka Airport, Amman. It will fly humanitarian cargos between Brindisi and Amman and the other destinations in the region. The first flight departed for Brindisi on 17 July. For more information see the website. 4. BORDER CROSSING AND CUSTOMSUNJLC Jordan reports that the Coalition are now effectively withdrawing from the Jordan/Iraqi border around the 16th – 17th of July, leaving behind a skeletal staff of 10 personnel. It is feared that this move may have dramatic effects on border security and lead to increased tailbacks and congestion in the coming weeks. UNJLC and the HACC have raised this issue with the UN and CPA in Baghdad as an urgent concern. Collaborative work between the Coalition, UNJLC and WFP is continuing at the Jordan/Iraqi border to improve traffic flow by installation of concrete barriers to channel traffic and the deployment of traffic signs. At the Kuwaiti/Iraq border, OCHA has reported that up to 70% of UN drivers in transit between Kuwait and Iraq are not checking in or making the required radio calls to the Kuwait radio room. Hard copies of “missions plans” (copies of the security clearance forms) should be delivered to the radio room a day before the mission is planned. OCHA stresses that vital vehicle tracking cannot be undertaken without these documents and urges all humanitarian organizations to comply with these security requirements. A border crossing map is available on the website. 5. TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTUREThe railways system in Iraq is working at 25% capacity in relation to it’s pre-war levels. The majority of the activities are related to transporting containers for the CPA from Basrah into central Iraq. The infrastructure in Basrah is slowly improving with electricity available 14-15 hours a day and water being provided to 75% of the population. The Ro-Ro and container berths at Um Qasr will be closed down for a 10 day period at some point between the 16th July and the 6th August. Security in the port continues to improve under the management of security firm Olive. Security upgrades include the repair to a masonry fence, additional lighting and addition of razor wire. There has been a fire at the port due to the handling of liquid bulk cargo (oil/derivatives). Umm Qasr was never designed to handle this type of cargo and SSA Marine, who are currently managing the port, have stated that they will not handle liquid bulk until a number of serious safety and environmental issues have been addressed. The Dubai Port Authorities are working with the Iraqi customs agents on immigration procedures in preparation for the arrival of the first passenger ship next week. For a complete weekly update from Barwill/SSA Marine see the website. 6. LOGISTICS COORDINATIONUNJLC Jordan assisted in organising a military escort for a convoy of 22 tankers transporting Tetra Ethyl Lead (TEL) into Iraq to the Baiji refinery under the oil for food programme which arrived on the 14th July. In Baghdad, UNJLC is actively discussing the worsening fuel (diesel) situation in Iraq with key logistics staff. An active role is now being played by UNJLC including the arrangement for UN agencies to have access to preferred refueling points. UNJLC has launched a helpdesk facility to provide logistics information for the humanitarian community. Please see the website or send an email to helpdesk@unjlc.org. In order to support the NGO communities’ efforts to coordinate logistics, UNJLC has developed a bulletin board on their website where message can be posted. 7. CIVIL-MILITARY COORDINATIONUNJLC Kuwait continues to liaise closely with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) on the need to develop and publish Search and Rescue (SAR) procedures for civilian air operations in Iraq. The ICAO has produced a ‘proposal for SAR Capacity Building in Iraq’ which. After incorporating amendments from UNJLC air staff, will form the basis of this UNJLC sponsored project. 8. FUELThe availability of domestically produced fuels in Iraq has continued to deteriorate over the past week with potentially serious effects on the ability of humanitarian organizations to conduct operations. The situation is going from bad to worse with sharp rises in black market prices. There is little prospect for improvement in the short term unless export smuggling is curtailed effectively, stability restored to the national power grid, imports increased from the already high level for LPG and gasoline, and immediate imports commenced for diesel. The majority of fuel imports are presently paid for by the Coalition, with the balance acquired through barter trade of heavy fuel oil for LPG and gasoline by the State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO), an arm of the Iraqi Ministry of Oil. There are firm indications that this massive Coalition subsidy to the Iraqi economy will continue through to the end of September but not necessarily beyond that. Realistically, the Iraqi oil industry may be unable to meet national fuels demand from domestic refinery and gas plant production until at least next year and may have to step up its existing programme of barter trade. The past week saw what first appeared to be a hiatus in widespread disruption of electrical power supplies to crude oil operations, refineries and LPG production facilities but major problems have re-emerged in recent days, particularly in the south. The diesel shortage that became apparent in late June is now widespread across Iraq, to the extent that SOMO and the Coalition appear to have now decided to import diesel to help alleviate this. Clearly, this action will need to be conducted in parallel with more effective anti-smuggling operations to ensure that existing and new supplies remain available to the market in Iraq. LPG supply continues to be perhaps one-third of national demand but has improved marginally with the combined effects of slightly higher domestic production and imports. Further domestic production from the Southern Gas Plant and increased imports from Kuwait and directly into Iraq through the Khor Zubayr export facility during August are likely to alleviate the situation by the end of that month. An LPG supply and distribution crisis, with the consequent humanitarian implications, will continie for the time being. Significantly, crude exports commenced in late June for several days through the Mina Al-Bakr offshore terminal in the Arabian Gulf, initially from crude held in storage. They have now recommenced and will continue through to the end of this month. As expected, this has led to significantly higher southern production, although this has not yet translated into greater LPG production in the south. For the complete version of the UNJLC weekly fuel bulletin see the website. For Fuel availability in Iraq please see the website. 9. OTHERUNJLC Kuwait is closing it’s office towards the end of July. UNJLC Baghdad is heavily involved in developing the NGO radio network, which currently only has one heavily used emergency channel. Equipment prices have been researched and MOTAC will be requested to provide two frequencies. UNHAS/UNJLC contact information. Passenger Bookings: Saba Jamil and Bartholemou Dias Regional Air Coordinator: Paul Steiner Air Cargo: Kjersti Bang UNJLC Kuwait Office and Liaison Officer OCPA Air Authorities: Keith Chapman. |
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