“By liberating Fallujah, the Iraqi government has taken back control of the last big city on the Euphrates River. Week by week, Daesh terrorist groups have been continually driven back. The international community’s collective action against Daesh is working. And with support from the international community, Iraq has recovered a large part of its territory from Daesh.
However, this military success will only be sustainable if the Iraqi government regains the trust of the population in liberated areas. As a result, it is now vital to get supplies to internally displaced persons and allow them to return home as quickly as possible. Germany is the country providing the greatest amount of aid in this regard. As soon as the security situation permits, public order and basic supplies must be restored in the city to allow the inhabitants to return to their homes. Germany will do its best to help Fallujah become habitable again as soon as possible.
It is also essential that the authorities and Iraqi security forces operating in the liberated areas show themselves to be fair and respectful of the rule of law in order to avoid provoking new interreligious rifts. Daesh can be defeated as long as the different groups of the population do not allow themselves to be played off against each other”.
Mr Steinmeier decided to send the UN High Commissioner for Refugees an additional 5 million euros earmarked for emergency aid to provide supplies to internally displaced persons in the areas around Fallujah.
The German Federal Ministry for Foreign Affairs has already donated in the region of 25 million euros allocated for measures to stabilise the areas previously occupied by Daesh – particularly for mine clearance – to allow the population to return as soon as possible.