Irregular and intercommunal conflict and sudden-onset disasters have increased humanitarian needs across the triborder region between Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso. Humanitarian operating spaces have also been restricted.

This briefing note provides an overview of mine action needs and operations in Iraq. It consolidates information from a range of credible, publicly available sources, including UN agencies, governments, international and local NGOs, the media, desk reviews, and international monitors. 

Approximately 2,700–3,000 asylum seekers and migrants are currently residing outside of formal accomodation in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Migrants not in formal accomodation are particularly vulnerable to cold weather conditions as they can lack adequate shelter and clothing.

This report is based on a secondary data review, supplemented by interviews with members of civil society, INGOs, and UN agencies. Although the issue of caminantes is understood to be a regional phenomenon that affects multiple countries, because of the availability of information the focus of this report is on Colombia and Venezuela. 

300,000 semi-nomadic herders live in the Mongolian steppe. Over the past two decades, climate change has made what is known as a dzud more severe and more frequent. While herders and animals living in this region are resilient to environmental hazards, dzuds put an additional strain on the lives of herders, who receive 35% of their income from livestock. 

70% of Yemen’s 30.5 million people live in areas controlled by Ansar Allah: an FTO designation would have a much greater impact on Yemeni civilians than FTO designations introduced in other contexts. 

The Yemen Risk Overview is a risk identification report published every six months which outlines the main emerging risks in Yemen that might affect the humanitarian situation over the next six months. It aims to inform the humanitarian community of possible changes in context and humanitarian needs in Yemen.

This report presents a comprehensive review of the available primary and secondary data on areas in Azerbaijan affected by the recent Nagorno-Karabakh region as at 15 December. It provides a summary of available information on priority geographic areas and sectors for response, and the main vulnerable groups within the affected population in need of support. 

Possible developments of movement and settlement patterns and humanitarian needs in the next six months after the redesignation of the Protection of Civilians sites.

According to international experts, food security in Yemen continue to deteriorate and two-thirds of Yemenis are in need of food and livelihood support. Without sustained and informed external support, the gap between the cost of food and what Yemenis can afford will steadily grow.
 

ACAPS Humanitarian Access Overview provides a snapshot of the most challenging contexts for humanitarian access. Crisis-affected populations in more than 60 countries are not getting the humanitarian assistance they need because of access constraints. Four new countries – Armenia, Azerbaijan, Eswatini, and Vietnam – have entered the ranking since the last release.

The Taliban and the Afghan National Security Forces have been fighting in Helmand province since 11 October. Since 28 October, the fighting has moved across southern provinces. Over 87,000 people are directly affected by the closure of health facilities with a further 195,000 only able to access limited services. 

Reports of violence against civilians in Colombia have increased in 2020. As projected by ACAPS, armed groups and criminal organisations have taken advantage of COVID-19 containment measures to expand their territorial and social control, often by exploiting and inflicting violence on local communities. 

Sudan is affected by a combination of political and economic instability, conflict, climate change-related shocks including heavy flooding and severe drought, endemics, and an influx of refugees from neighbouring countries. These factors have contributed to heightened poverty, increased population displacement, and food insecurity. 

Very severe cyclonic storm Gati is moving westwards towards Somalia and Bab Al Mandeb Strait, and is expected to make landfall on 23 November. Moderate rain is forecast across southern central Yemen, with an increased risk of flash flooding where the storm tracks.

In October 2020, the federal Government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government signed an agreement on the status of Sinjar district, in Ninewa governorate. As there is an upward trend in the number of returnees to Sinjar district, this analysis aims to help inform the humanitarian community about the current and expected living conditions and humanitarian needs of both residents and returnees. 

Conflict over the area between Azerbaijan and Armenia and ethnic Armenian forces based in Nagorno-Karabakh has been ongoing for decades. For more than six weeks, fighting and displacement took place in Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding areas, resulting in the deaths of more than 140 civilians and thousands of combatants, widespread destruction to civilian infrastructure, and disruption to services.

Conflict around Marib between Ansar Allah (the Houthis) and local tribes supported by the internationally recognised Government of Yemen (IRG) and the Saudi-led coalition has increased since early 2020. From January to October, fighting displaced over 98,000 people into the governorate with 70% of IDPs located in Marib city and Marib Al Wadi. 

The coastline of Yemen’s Red Sea and of its neighbouring countries is at risk of an environmental disaster that could happen any day – with substantial humanitarian and economic impacts. It is increasingly likely that there could be an immense oil leakage from and/or an explosion of the FSO Safer, a floating storage and offloading unit anchored in the Red Sea.

On the morning of 1 November 2020, Typhoon Goni (known locally as Rolly) made landfall in Bicol Region and hit the town of Tiwi in Albay province, causing rivers to overflow and flood much of the region. The typhoon – considered the world’s strongest typhoon so far this year – had maximum sustained winds of 225 km/h and gustiness of up to 280 km/h, moving at 25 km/h.