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 Air<br />
For those who can afford it, airplane travel has become more readily available via the three<br />
major airports in Basra, Baghdad and Erbil. However, insurgents are targeting Baghdad<br />
International Airport, which is located 20km southwest of Baghdad and also serves as a US<br />
military base (Camp Victory). 797 Civilian and military aircraft arriving to and departing<br />
from the airport have been subjected to attack by small arms and missiles. 798 In addition,<br />
insecurity and lack of proper maintenance of Iraq’s aircrafts often lead to cancellations and<br />
delays. 799 Insurgents reportedly have also targeted Erbil Airport. 800 The US Embassy (and<br />
the UN) prohibits all US government employees from departing Baghdad International<br />
Airport on commercial airlines. 801<br />
The road to the airport, a 12km stretch of highway linking the airport to the International<br />
Zone has been a regular target for insurgents and was labelled the most dangerous road in<br />
Iraq. Travellers on the road face constant threats from IEDs, small arms fire and RPG<br />
attacks. 802 Incidents had lessened somewhat over the latter part of 2006. They have,<br />
however, risen again in 2007, and fatal attacks continue to take place on an almost daily<br />
basis. 803<br />
iv. Restrictions on Entry/Residency and/or Locations of Settlement<br />
Furthermore, some neighbourhoods in Baghdad and the local authorities in several<br />
Governorates have imposed restrictions on the entry and residence of IDPs and/or their<br />
locations of settlement. Measures or restrictions designed to halt new entries into some<br />
Governorates/areas/cities are motivated by security, economic (limited municipal<br />
resources) saturation-related and political considerations. It is important to note that<br />
797<br />
On 7 March 2007, four mortar rounds crashed into the airport compound, including one which struck the<br />
main terminal; see Reuters, Mortars strike Baghdad airport, no casualties, 8 March 2007,<br />
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/KHA838258.htm. On 11 March 2006, explosives were found near<br />
a Royal Jordanian Airways plane at Baghdad Airport; see FCO, Travel Advise by Country – Iraq, see above<br />
footnote 790.<br />
798<br />
FCO, Travel Advise by Country – Iraq, see above footnote 790; USDOS, Travel Warning – Iraq, see<br />
above footnote 790. See also: SITE Institute, according to which the Islamic State of Iraq issued<br />
a communiqué on 23 March 2007, claiming responsibility for launching an attack on the aircraft carrying the<br />
“Crusader” Australian Prime Minister, John Howard, during his 18 March 2007 visit; SITE Institute, Islamic<br />
State of Iraq Claims Attack on Aircraft Carrying Australian Prime Minister, John Howard, 23 March 2007,<br />
http://www.siteinstitute.org/bin/articles.cgi?ID=publications265807&Category=publications&Subcategory=0.<br />
799<br />
Hannah Allam, Commercial flights provide a bird’s-eye view of Iraq’s problems, McClatchy<br />
Newspapers, 15 March 2007, http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/news/columnists/hannah_allam/<br />
16911111.htm?source=rss&channel=krwashington_hannah_allam.<br />
800<br />
FCO, Travel Advise by Country – Iraq, see above footnote 790; USDOS, Travel Warning – Iraq, see<br />
above footnote 790.<br />
801<br />
USDOS, Travel Warning – Iraq, see above footnote 790.<br />
802<br />
See, for example, John F. Burns, Terror on Iraq’s “Death Street”, The New York Times, 30 May 2005,<br />
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/05/29/news/street.php; Jill Caroll and Dan Murphy, Toughest commute in<br />
Iraq? The six miles to the airport, The Christian Science Monitor, 26 April 2005, http://www.csmonitor.com/<br />
2005/0426/p01s03-woiq.html.<br />
803<br />
Assessment received by UNAMI/Safety and Security Unit by e-mail on 23 May 2007.<br />
156