UNHCR's ELIGIBILITY GUIDELINES FOR ASSESSING THE ...
UNHCR's ELIGIBILITY GUIDELINES FOR ASSESSING THE ...
UNHCR's ELIGIBILITY GUIDELINES FOR ASSESSING THE ...
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Travel by Road<br />
Road travel in Iraq, particularly in Central Iraq, remains highly dangerous. 790 There has<br />
been an increase in roadside bombings in and around Baghdad, Basrah, Mosul, Kirkuk and<br />
on all main routes, including fatal attacks on both military and civilian vehicles. Attacks<br />
occur throughout the day, but travel after sunset is particularly dangerous. There are daily<br />
attacks against the MNF/ISF throughout Central and Southern Iraq. There has also been<br />
a rise in violent attacks at false checkpoints set up by insurgents and militias. 791 Travelling<br />
is often delayed by MNF/ISF checkpoints and convoys, which also increases the risk of<br />
being targeted by insurgents or criminals or being caught in armed clashes.<br />
As formerly mixed areas become increasingly dominated by one sect and their armed<br />
groups, 792 travel in such areas has become highly dangerous for members of the opposite<br />
sect. There has been a rise in violent attacks at false checkpoints set up by insurgents and<br />
militias who specifically target members of the opposite sect. 793 For example, on the road<br />
between Baghdad and Balad, Sunnis face increased risks as these areas are under the<br />
control of Shi’ite militias. Shi’ites in turn face added risks between Balad and Mosul.<br />
790 The USDOS says that “(A)ll vehicular travel in Iraq is extremely dangerous”; see: USDOS, Bureau of<br />
Consular Affairs, Travel Warning – Iraq, http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_921.html [accessed<br />
April 2007]. The UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office says that “(R)oad travel remains highly dangerous”;<br />
see United Kingdom Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO), Travel Advise by Country – Iraq,<br />
http://www.fco.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPage&c=Page&cid=100702939<br />
0590&a=KCountryAdvice&aid=1013618386640 [accessed April 2007].<br />
791 For example, on 1 April 2007, unknown gunmen positioned a fake checkpoint in near the town of Hibhib<br />
in Diyala Governorate and abducted 19 civilians at gunpoint; see Aasem Taha, Mass kidnapping on main<br />
road north of Baghdad, Voices of Iraq, 2 April 2007, http://www.iraqupdates.com/p_articles.php?refid=<br />
DH-S-02-04-2007&article=16080; on 11 November 2006, Sunni gunmen reportedly ambushed a convoy of<br />
minibuses at a fake checkpoint on the highway south of Baghdad near the town of Latifiyah in the “Triangle<br />
of Death”, killing 10 Shi’ite passengers and kidnapping about 50; CBS/AP, 10 Shiites Killed In Iraq Bus<br />
Ambush, 11 November 2007, http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/11/11/iraq/main2174419.shtml; on<br />
5 June 2006, gunmen ordered a three minibuses to stop at a fake checkpoint near the town of Qara Tappah in<br />
the Governorate of Dyala, dragging 21 persons, many of them high-school students off the buses before<br />
executing those of Shiite and Kurdish origin; see The Telegraph, Militants execute 21 in Iraq bus attack,<br />
5 June 2006, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/06/04/uiraq.xml&sSheet=/news/<br />
2006/06/04/ixnews.html.<br />
792 See also “Affected Areas”.<br />
793 For example, on 1 April 2007, unknown gunmen positioned a fake checkpoint near the town of Hibhib in<br />
Diyala Governorate and abducted 19 civilians at gunpoint; see Taha, see above footnote 791; on 11 November<br />
2006, Sunni gunmen reportedly ambushed a convoy of minibuses at a fake checkpoint on the highway south<br />
of Baghdad near the town of Latifiyah in the “Triangle of Death”, killing 10 Shi’ite passengers and<br />
kidnapping about 50; CBS/AP, 10 Shiites Killed In Iraq Bus Ambush, 11 November 2007,<br />
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/11/11/iraq/main2174419.shtml; on 5 June 2006, gunmen ordered three<br />
minibuses to stop at a fake checkpoint near the town of Qara Tappah in the Governorate of Dyala, dragging<br />
21 persons, many of them high-school students off the buses before executing those of Shiite and Kurdish<br />
origin; see The Telegraph, Militants execute 21 in Iraq bus attack, 5 June 2006, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/<br />
news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/06/04/uiraq.xml&sSheet=/news/2006/06/04/ixnews.html.<br />
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