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TallTayyibahandNajma,6December

TallTayyibah

Having briefly visited Tall Tayyibah, a village under PMF (Hashd al Shaabi) control, on 25 November (seepreviousRise report),wereturnedon6December tocollectdetailed informationonthe localwaterproject

andtheextentof repairs thatareneeded,andtoassess theneedsofnearbyvillages in thearea,whichwewere unable to reach the last time. We also wanted to learn more about the PMF’s attitude towards

humanitarianaccessinareasundertheirauthority.

AccessAlthoughthereisoftenacongregationofFedPol,PMFandHashdAshaariattheQayyarahjunction,wheretheQayyarah road meets Highway 1, the FedPol checkpoint at the junction is loosely guarded and – in our

experience–itisnotusuallynecessarytostop.TheturningforTallTayyibahisabout13kmupHighway1,onthewestside.Approximately3kmfurtherupHighway1isaPMFcheckpoint,whichwewerepreviouslyunable

topass.Thewaterfacilityisonthewestoftheroad,justsouthofthecheckpoint.

TheentrancetoTallTayyibahisguardedbyaPMFcheckpoint.Wehadarrangedtoseethelocalsheikh,whometusthere,andafterashortwaitwewereescortedtothePMFheadquarters,ashadhappenedonourlast

visit.

PMFinTallTayyibahTheHarakatalNujabbaare thePMFmilitiabased inTallTayyibahwithcontrolof the localarea.Thegroup

emergedfromAsaibAhlal-Haqin2013andhasveryclosetieswithIran.

UponourarrivalinTallTayyibahthePMFweresuspiciousofusandourintentions–moreso,itseemed,thanon our previous visit – although they remained friendly and courteous. The commander, whomwe’dmet

before, was not there, but the deputy commander was present. Having sat down in an office in the PMFheadquarters,wewereaskedanumberofquestionsoverthecourseofaboutanhour,particularlywhether

we had any American staff or links with US organisations. The deputy commander told us that they wereconcernedaboutspyingandfearfulofUSairstrikes.

OurrequesttoseemoreofTallTayyibahandotherinhabitedvillagesintheareatoconductrapidassessments

onthehumanitariansituationwasdenied.Weweretoldthatforeignersarenotallowedinthisareaandthatwewouldneed signedand stamped lettersof approval from thePMF leadership inBaghdad tobegranted

futureaccess.Whenweaskedhowwecouldapplyforthispermissionwewerenotgivenaclearanswer.

Aswas emphasised on our last visit, the PMF stated that they are the only group giving any assistance tocivilians.Theirownfoodsuppliesarelimitedandtheyonlygivewhattheycanspare.Itwasdifficulttogeta

roundedviewoftheneeds inthevillageaswewerenotabletotalktoordinarycivilians.Wewerealsonotallowedtotalkwiththesheikhinprivate.However,wedidwitnesscivilianscomingtothePMFheadquarters–

whichwasalsotheirclinic–andbeinggivenmedicine.

The PMF stressed that theywant support for civilians butwere also open about their suspicion of foreignorganisations.ThedeputycommandersaidthathewouldpermitanothervisittoTallTayyibahonlyifitcame

withsuppliesfordistribution–eitherfood,medicinesorNFIs–orateamtobeginworkonrehabilitatingthewaterproject.Heunderstoodtheprobableconcernsofhumanitariansregardingthediversionofaid,andhe

insistedthatanydistributionwouldbecarriedout incoordinationwiththe localsheikhandthatallsupplies

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wouldgotothecivilians.HealsosaidthatanymedicineswouldbeunloadedinthelocalPHC(nowclosedduetoalackofmedicines),whichwouldthenbeopenedandstaffedbyanursewholivesinthevillage.

We said it would be important to conduct a rapid assessment of the other villages in the area before

distributions in these villages could take place – particularly security and access. The deputy commanderrepliedthatthiswouldbepermittedonlyifandwhenassistancearrivedinTallTayyibah.

Despitetheirsuspicion,weweretreatedpolitelybythePMFthroughoutourtimeinTallTayyibah.

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PopulationanddisplacementinTallTayyibahandsurroundingvillagesThe currentpopulationof Tall Tayyibah is 1,600 individuals according to the local sheikh, PMFandanother

civilianresident.Ofthisnumber,65familiesareIDPsfromAjiyaa,avillagearound12kmwestofTallTayyibah.TheywerebroughtbythePMFfromtheirvillagetoTallTayyibahaboutamonthagoastheirvillagewasonthe

frontlineandunsafe.Theyarenowstayingwiththehostcommunityorinemptyhouses.Wewereunabletotalk toanyof the IDPs.AjiyaaandTallTayyibahbothbelongto theHaddidi tribe,asdomostvillages in the

area.

AccordingtothelocalsheikhandPMFtheother inhabitedvillagesintheareaareAlSheikh,Mustantiq,AbuFishqah,AlBijwaniyahAlUlya,AlBijwaniyahAlSufra,andAlBishmanah.Theremaywellbeothers.Including

TallTayyibah,thetotalpopulationofthese7villagesisreportedly7,000individuals(thePMFrefusedtogiveusanyfurtherbreakdownofthisfigure,orwhattheneedswereinthe7villages).Weweretoldthat50IDP

familiesfromGhuzaylAlSufra,avillageroughly25kmnorth-westofAlBishmanah,werebroughtbythePMFtoAlBishmanahaboutaweekagofortheirsafety.Weweretoldthataround70%oftheinhabitantsofvillages

intheareafledtowardsMosulaheadofthePMFadvance.

PriorityneedsinTallTayyibahOur previous report touched on the priority needs in Tall Tayyibah (feel free to contact Rise if you did not

receiveacopy).Themainneedremainstherehabilitationofthewaterproject,followedbyfoodandmedicine.

Wemetwiththeengineerinchargeofthewaterprojectandhewasabletogiveusclear,detailedinformationregardingit.ThewaterprojectisapartofthelargerShuraWaterProjectwhichpumpsfromtheTigrisatthe

Mishrak pump station around 32 km east of Tall Tayyibah (following the pipeline). The water project

reportedly feeds 15 villages: Tubiyah, Nannah, Tall Wai, Nus Tall, Nizaza, Al Aithat∗, Tall Khutyah, Um Al

Mahahir,Shurtania∗,AlAinAlHarrow∗,TallAlSamn,TallTayyibah,AlBijwaniyahAlUliya,AlBishmanah,and

Qabr Ibn Naif. A lack of electricity is the main issue. Ideally, mains electricity would be restored with therehabilitationandfuellingoftheQayyarahGasTurbine,whichrequires36,000litres/hourtorunat80mw.In

this case only relatively basic repairs would be necessary to return the water project to full functionality.Failingthat,fourgeneratorsarerequiredfortheproject, includingonewitha6.6kvcapacityattheMishrak

pumpstation,whichapparentlyisnotavailable.Wecanprovidefurtherinformationonrequest.

Asmentionedabove,foodissuppliedchiefly,ifnotonly,bythePMF.Somepeoplehavebasicstockstheycansurviveon.Milkforbabieswashighlightedasamajorneed.Thereisreportedlyonesmallshopinthevillage.

TheshopkeeperispermittedtotraveltoQayyarahonceaweektopurchasegoods.However,therestofthepopulationisnotallowedtoleavethevillageunlessspecialpermissionisgrantedbythePMF.Itisthesamefor

othervillagesunderPMFcontrolinthearea.

Commonmedical conditions in the village reportedly include inflammation of the stomach, kidney stones,chestinfections,respiratoryproblems,andskindiseases.Thecoldweatherisamajorcauseforarecentuptick

in illnesses.AmalePMFmedic is theonlyactivemedicalworker in thevillageand thereforewomen sufferespecially. There havebeen two recent complicationswith pregnantwomen giving birth. Thewomenwere

takentoQayyarahfor treatmentandthenontoTikritas the issueswerereportedlybeyondthecapacityofQayyarahhospital.ThePMFwillallowfreedomofmovementandprovidehelpinemergencies.ThePMFmedic

reported that a number of residents require operations but the machinery and expertise are lacking inQayyarah.Asmentionedabove,thereisaPrivateHealthClinic(PHC)inthevillagebutitisclosedduetoalack

ofmedicines.Shouldmedicalsuppliesbedelivered,thePMFsaidtheywouldreopenthePHCandstaffitwitha civilian nurse who lives in the village. Regarding the cold, we were told that blankets and clothes were

neededforthepopulation.∗Villagenameandlocationtobeconfirmed.

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SuppliesatthePMFmedicalcentreinsidetheirheadquarters,wherecivilianscometobetreated.

RecommendationsAshighlightedinourlastreport,thePMFhavetakenalargeswatheoflandleadingwestfromHighway1to

beyondTelAfar.Verylittleisknownabouttheciviliansthatremaininthesevillagesandtheconditionstheyarelivingunder.TobeabletoreachciviliansinthesmallareasurroundingTallTayyibahandrespondtotheir

needs,NGOsmustfirstrespondinTallTayyibah.Fromthere,NGOscangainthetrustofthePMFandpossiblybegrantedfurtheraccesstovillagesunderPMFcontrol.

Asmentionedinthelastreport,differentPMFgroupshavedifferentattitudestowardsforeignersandthis is

likelytorelatedirectlytotheeaseofaccessforinternationalorganisations.Whendealingwithcertaingroups,it is not recommended to take staff from theUSA. Careful coordination between organisations considering

workingintheseareasisalsoessential.ThePMFneedtoseetheresultsandbenefitsofhumanitarianactionratherthanassessments,whichplayupontheirsuspicions.

WeareavailabletomeetbilaterallytodiscussfurtherimpressionsofthesituationinPMF-controlledareas.

Najma

Najma(35.5337543.06235)islocatedatthebaseofsomehillsontheeastsideofHighway1,approximately5kmnorthofQayyarahjunction.

AccessandpopulationThe village is accessed via a 4km dirt track, which diverts from the highway at a point 3km north of thejunction (35.5254343.04056), just southofa formerpetrol stationwhichnowfunctionsasaHashdAshaari

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base.Whenfollowingthetrack,arightforkshouldbetakenearlyon.ThetrackthenleadsonawindingcoursedirectlytoNajma,whichcanbeseenclearlyfromthemainroad.Thesurfaceofthetrackisrelativelysolidand

passable, despite recent rains. Later, the track turns into a (poorly)metalled road. It is recommended thatpermission togo to thevillagebe sought from theHashdAshaari eitherat theQayyarah junctionorat the

base.

ThetrackleadingtoNajmavillage.Najmareportedlyhadanoriginalpopulationofaround100families.InJulythefrontlinecametorestnearthe

villageandremainedthereforaround2months.ISISoriginallyfledthevillageaheadoftheISFadvance,butwhentheadvancestalledjusttothesouth,theyreportedlyreturnedtoNajmaanduseditasafrontlinebase.

AtthistimearoundhalfthecivilianpopulationfledtoAlTassah,avillagebeyondthenearbyhills,3kmtothenorth-east.WeweretoldthattheotherhalfweretakenforciblybyISIStoMosul,althoughit’ssuspectedthat

therewouldhavebeensomevoluntaryrelocationstoMosulaswell.The50families(possiblyanoverestimatebasedon thenumberofcivilianswesaw in thevillage) that fled toAlTassahreturnedvoluntarily toNajma

around20daysago.ThepopulationconsistschieflyoftheHaddiditribewithsomefromtheShammartribe.TherearenoIDPsamongthem.

DestructionandIEDsThere isheavydestructionthevillage.Somebuildingsweretargetedbyairstrikeswhileotherswereburned.Localsestimatedthedestructiontobeataround50%,althoughthisseemedtobeahighestimate.Numerous

familiesreturnedtofindtheirhomeburnedordestroyed–theynowlivewithneighboursorrelatives.ThereareIEDssituatedaroundNajma,inthehillstothenorth,andonsomealternativeroutesintothevillage

–onlythedirttrackfromHighway1shouldbeusedforaccess.TherewasarecentincidentinvolvinganIEDinwhichsomesheepwerekilledbuttherehavenotyetbeenanyhumancasualties.Setbackfromthetownat

thefootofahillisahistoricalOttomanpalacewhichapparentlyisbooby-trapped.

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Housesdestroyedbyairstrikes.

AnIEDbesideanalternativetrackleadingintothevillage.

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PriorityneedsThevillagerssaytheyhavemademultiplerequeststotheUN(genericforaidorganisations)forsupportsince

theyarrivedback in the village,buthavenot yet receivedanything. Livelihoodsarebasedprimarily aroundagriculture, and seedswere highlighted as a need. There are no boreholes in Najma and the village is not

serviced by awater project so, as before, people continue to use private trucking firms to accesswater. A10,000-litre tanker comes once aweek fromQayyarah costing 50,000 IQD,which is apparently an inflated

price.FoodisalsoboughtfromQayyarah,asaremedicines.Thevillageisconnectedtotheelectricalgridbutthepowerwascutwhenfightingstarted.Fewpeoplehavegeneratorsandfuel.Blanketsandcarpetswerealso

highlightedasneedsforthewinter.Thepriority,however,isfoodandcashassistance.

ScreeningThepopulationhavebeensecurityscreenedtwicebytheISF–thefirsttimeinAlTassahandthenagainupon

theirreturntoNajma.Theydidnotreportanyissuesregardingthescreeningprocess.