IDPS IN AMRAN ESCAPE WAR BUT STILL EXPOSED TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L SANAA 002124 SIPDIS FOR NEA/ARP AMACDONALD, INR JYAPHE, AND PRM/ANE RSCHAEFFER E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/24/2019 TAGS: PREF PGOV PHUM PREL SOCI UNHCR YM SUBJECT: IDPS IN AMRAN ESCAPE WAR BUT STILL EXPOSED TO DANGER Classified By: Ambassador Stephen Seche for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY. The approximately 28,000 IDPs in Amran governorate may have escaped the conflict zone, but their survival remains precarious. Local authorities view them with suspicion and have attempted to restrict and manipulate aid delivery for political purposes. The camp established for them is so unsafe that all non-governmental service providers, including UNHCR and Islamic Relief Yemen, decided to suspend activities there until the government provides adequate security for IDPs and aid workers alike. Local hospitals, already burdened by malnutrition and other poverty-related ailments, are having difficulty meeting the IDPs' urgent needs. U.S. support has enabled UNHCR to stand up an office in Amran City in order to help meet the IDPs' needs and advocate on their behalf for more access to services. Post will continue to encourage national and local authorities to provide security for IDPs and relief workers, as well as to quickly identify and establish a safe alternative location for an IDP camp. END SUMMARY. IDPS IN AMRAN -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Of the approximately 175,000 IDPs nationwide, there are an estimated 28,000 in Amran governorate. While many of them fled the fighting in Harf Sufyan, in northern Amran governorate, IDPs living in Amran have come from as far as the Yemeni-Saudi border. There is one IDP camp in Khaiwan district that houses approximately 50 families. However, the vast majority of IDPs in Amran are living with host families, in empty schools and warehouses, or in rented apartments. IDPs often sell their belongings to be able to pay for transport out of the conflict zone and to pay the rent in temporary housing. In a November 17 visit to Amran City, less than an hour from Sana'a, PolOff spoke to one IDP family that had fled Razih (Sa'ada governorate) two weeks prior because they could not find food and were frightened by the fighting. They pooled their resources with other families to pay 120,000 riyals (600 USD) to hire a vehicle to transport them out of the conflict zone. They are now renting an apartment in Amran City, but the male head of household has been unable to find employment. Another IDP family told PolOff that they fled Al-Tahl, on the outskirts of Sa'ada City, a month prior. They, too, are renting an apartment but have no steady source of income. ¶3. (C) Martha Kow-Donkor, UNHCR Associate Field Officer in Amran, told PolOff that IDPs generally prefer not to live in camps for cultural and privacy-related reasons. As most are unable to find work, however, "When the money runs out, how will they survive?" The local authorities' previous policy on aid distribution has compounded the hardships of IDPs. For the first few months of the conflict, the Governor of Amran prohibited those IDPs not living in the camp from receiving any assistance. Kow-Donkor explained that the local authorities suspected the IDPs were Houthis, and by corralling them into the camp, the government hoped to restrict their movements and control them. (Note: Gian Carlo Cirri of the World Food Program told PolOff on November 4 that the Governor of Amran, unlike his counterpart in Hajja governorate -- where Mazraq IDP camp was established )- is not responsive to the requests of relief organizations nor receptive to their advice about how best to manage aid delivery. End Note.) Yahya Tawaf, Ministry of Interior liaison officer to UNHCR, told PolOff that the reason the government wants IDPs to reside in Khaiwan camp is that "Amran residents are afraid that these people share the Houthi ideology." According to Kow-Donkor, UNHCR opposes such a policy. "We don't want to force people into camps. Camps should be the last resort." About one month ago, local authorities finally allowed distribution of humanitarian assistance to take place outside the camp, and UNHCR has begun distributing aid to IDPs in Amran City, Khaiwan camp, and Houth and Khamir districts. KHAIWAN CAMP: TOO UNSAFE -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Another reason UNHCR opposes the government's attempt to channel IDPs into Khaiwan camp is that it is not a safe place, for IDPs or humanitarian aid workers. Just nine kilometers from the fighting in Harf Sufyan, shells have landed near the camp on multiple occasions. There have also been two shootings by local tribesmen who want some of the aid for their impoverished communities, according to Abdulaziz Saeed, Head of Programs for Islamic Relief Yemen. Small arms are prevalent, contributing to the sense of insecurity: Kow-Donkor told PolOff that "Even in Khaiwan camp, all the IDPs are armed." The camp is government-run, though UNHCR and other relief organizations had been supporting the IDPs with food and non-food items (NFI). However, due to ongoing concerns about the security situation there, all service providers decided on November 17 to suspend their activities in Khaiwan camp until the local authorities take appropriate measures to ensure effective protection of both IDPs and humanitarian aid workers. UNHCR is urging the governor to identify a safer location for an IDP camp. Kow-Donkor reported that a camp may be established in Beni Surim, but the government must first negotiate permission to establish the camp with the tribes that own the land. UNHCR ACTIVITIES IN AMRAN -------------- ¶5. (SBU) In addition to distribution of non-food items (NFI) such as mattresses, blankets, and cooking equipment, UNHCR is undertaking "quick impact projects," such as renovating schools, warehouses, health clinics, and homes where IDPs have found shelter. This way, the local families and communities who have offered shelter to IDPs receive some benefit for their hospitality, in the form of improved buildings or an extra bathroom in private or community facilities. UNHCR, with Islamic Relief Yemen, will also open a "community center" where IDPs can obtain psychological counseling, legal referrals, and greater access to information about aid and other resources available to them. This is especially important now that UNHCR and other aid groups are no longer working inside Khaiwan camp. The community center should help reduce the confusion about registration and distribution that IDPs expressed to PolOff on November 17. (Note: According to Kow-Donkor, U.S. support is what enabled UNHCR to launch its Amran program shortly after the sixth round of fighting began. End Note.) LOCAL HOSPITAL STRAINED -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Dr. Abdulghani Fares, Director of Al-Jumhuri Hospital in Amran City, told PolOff on November 17 that the emergency room is experiencing an increased caseload from IDPs. Since the fighting broke out in mid-August, the emergency room has attended to 650 families whose members were suffering from a variety of illnesses and ailments, including war wounds. The hospital's malnutrition ward is currently admitting 50 cases per day, a thirty percent increase due to the influx of IDPs. Five to ten patients are hospitalized every day because of severe malnutrition and lack of appetite; the remaining patients come to the hospital daily for feeding until they are stabilized. (Note: USAID supports Al-Jumhuri Hospital with equipment for the neonatal care unit and training in best practices in maternal, neonatal, and children's health. End Note.) COMMENT -------------- ¶7. (SBU) IDPs in Amran may have escaped the conflict zone, but their survival remains precarious. It may become even more so if the fighting comes closer, if their presence exacerbates tribal conflicts or causes resentment among the local communities -) whose impoverished residents do not qualify for aid )- or if they run out of what little money they had from selling their possessions. Post will continue to encourage national authorities and those in Amran to provide security for IDPs and relief workers, as well as to quickly identify and establish a safe alternative location for an IDP camp. END COMMENT. SECHE