• 1. OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
• 2. SECURITY
• 3. AIR OPERATIONS
• 4. BORDER CROSSING AND CUSTOMS
• 5. TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE
• 6. LOGISTICS COORDINATION
• 7. CIVIL-MILITARY COORDINATION
• 8. FUEL
• 9. OTHER

WFP dispatched over one million MT of food commodities since the beginning of operations in April 2003

The first orphan contract in the oil sector under the Oil for Food Programme arrived in Baghdad on the 24th of June facilitated by UNOPS and UNJLC.

SSA Marine confirmed they would remain as the executing agent for port management at Umm Qasr.

Domestic production of gasoline continues to be slightly more than half of demand, and LPG production about 25% of demand, leading to a significant black market premium, shortages and queues.

2. SECURITY

Iraq: Baghdad: Security phase 4. Incidents of well organised and structured sabotage attempts on infrastructure targets are on the increase, the latest being an RPG attack on a power station causing massive disruption to Baghdad’s power supply.

Mosul: Security phase 4.

Basrah: Security phase 4. Six British soldiers were killed in the vicinity of Amarahon the 24th of June. UNSECOORD is recommending the cancellation of any missions routed through Amara due to security concerns.

Al Hillah: Security phase 4.

Jordan: The country remains at security phase 2.

Syria: The country remains at security phase 1.

Kuwait: The country remains at security phase 1.

A complete daily listing of security incidents can be found at www.centcom.mil.

3. AIR OPERATIONS

Latest information suggests that the Baghdad international airport will be open somewhere towards the 15th of July. It is rumoured that British Airways will be one of the first carriers to fly to Baghdad.

Authorities at Basrah airport are considering restrictions on aircraft handling between 11:30 and 15:30 hrs local time due to the very high daytime temperatures in the area.

At Erbil airport, coalition forces have removed all equipment and fuel from the airport. The coalition has publicly stated that they intend to work in close cooperation with the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) to expand the airport and make it a functioning tool of commerce.

During the last week there have been 3 Boeing 737 flights into Baghdad instead of the Beechcraft 1900 schedule. UNHAS is now designing a new schedule using the 737 which will increase the capacity offered to Baghdad, Basrah and Mosul. The new schedule is being considered by the Humanitarian Aviation Board today and will be posted upon the UNJLC website upon revision/approval.

On June 22nd, UNHAS advised that its Boeing 737 would stop routing through Kuwait with immediate effect.

UNHAS Aircraft assets and utilisation

The Boeing 737, 100+ seat aircraft is operating out of Amman to Baghdad, Mosul and Basrah.

An Antonov12 cargo only aircraft continues its short-term contract missions operating mainly from Dubai to various locations within Iraq.

The IL76 is currently on scheduled maintenance until the 2nd of July.

The Belgium Air Force C130 has been temporarily withdrawn although may be back at the beginning of July.

The weekly UNHAS flight schedules are posted on the UNJLC website at http://www.unjlc.org/iraq/air/02_01.html.

4. BORDER CROSSING AND CUSTOMS

A UNJLC assessment of the Rabiah border between Syria and Iraq reported that the border was open 24/7 with 50 customs officers and 90 police. Approximately 300 trucks per day are passing through the border of which about 90% are carrying humanitarian cargo.

The flow of traffic across the Jordanian/Iraqi border has improved noticeably since the first inter-agency cross border coordination meeting was held on the 15th July with the Jordanian authorities and military. The Jordanians have started implementing a 24 hours customs service and a dedicated westbound lane for humanitarian traffic. Discussions are still underway with the coalition forces regarding the setup of a humanitarian lane on the Iraqi side of the border. WFP and the coalition will be placing barriers and signs to ensure that the traffic is effectively directed through the dedicated lanes. In addition UNJLC will deploy a second representative to provide support to all UN convoys crossing the border. Over the next 2-3 weeks, the coalition will be handing border operations over to the Iraqis.

Bechtel reports that the 4 lane detour route around the damaged Al-Rutbah bridge on highway 10, will be completed by Thursday 25th June.

In the South, there are persistent problems on the Iraqi side of the Abdaly/Safwan border in the south. Vehicles travelling on the main road are frequently subject to harassment, obstruction and stone throwing. Trucks under contract are being routed via the Military Supply Route that bypasses Safwan.

The Kuwaiti/Iraq border is open 24 hours per day for humanitarian traffic and from 06:00 to 18:00 hours for commercial traffic. Despite this, there are still long queues and delays while loads and paperwork are checked.

The HACC has issued a reminder of the procedure to be followed for the issue of visas (green forms of approval) for travel into Iraq from Kuwait:

Sponsoring Agencies/IOs/NGOs must submit green forms to the immigration office in the HOC not later than 1230 hrs on the day prior to travel. After receiving approval, these forms will be ready for collection at 1800 hrs.

If travel into Iraq is planned to take place on Fridays or Saturdays, green forms must be submitted not later than 1230 hrs on the previous Thursday.

If journeys are cancelled or postponed after green forms have been submitted/approved, the immigration office in the HOC must be informed as soon as possible.

A border crossing map is available at http://www.unjlc.org/iraq/border/01_01.html.

5. TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE

UNJLC has deployed two transport officers to the North and South of Iraq to conduct a comprehensive Iraqi Transport Network Survey.

A preliminary study of the transport network in Erbil by UNJLC found that there is an over capacity of trucks which can be utilised for cross border transport (although many of the drivers do not possess the correct ID to cross the border). The capacities of the trucks are between 20 and 50 MT.

WFP has completed an extensive survey of the transport market. The findings have been sent to Baghdad.

After investigating the Iraqi Railway Network, the CPA has reported that there are 418 serviceable rail cars. WFP experts are concerned that the lack of spare parts in the Iraqi railway inventory may bring the system to a halt in a couple of months. UNJLC was requested in facilitating letters of credit (LCs) to be issued for two rail contracts for the purchase of 50 Chinese locomotives and a fourteen piece train set.

5.1 UMM QASR PORT UPDATE

During a meeting between UNJLC, SSA Marine and the British Port Regiment, it was confirmed that SSA would be the executing agent for the port management in Umm Qasr.

As mentioned in the previous bulletin, the port was opened officially on June 16th for commercial traffic. A tariff is now in place and Barwill/SSA Marine are able to provide a proper estimated disbursement account. Vessels with aid cargo continue to be given first priority in case of congestions and/or delays.

The security in the port remains a problem, especially in the "old port". Additional trained security personnel are being deployed towards the end of June.

For a complete weekly update from Barwill/SSA Marine see the website.

6. LOGISTICS COORDINATION

WFP dispatched over one million MT of food commodities since the beginning of operations in April 2003, (418,262 MT between 1-18 June).

The first orphan contract in the oil sector under the Oil for Food Programme arrived in Baghdad on the 24th of June facilitated by UNOPS and UNJLC. UNJLC Jordan organised a military escort of 20 trucks containing Tetra Ether Lead (TEL) from the Jordan/Iraq border to the Daura refinery in Baghdad. TEL is a key additive in Iraqi gasoline production and should help increase the supply of domestic benzine which is currently only about half of the demand.

In Erbil, UNJLC provided a full briefing on the customs and border procedures to participant of the logistics working group meeting. Full minutes of the meeting are available from UNJLC information management unit, Amman.

7. CIVIL-MILITARY COORDINATION

A newly formed Humanitarian Assistance Coordination Centre (HACC) has been established in Kuwait and co-located with the HOC. The extent to which the functions of the HACC will supersede or overlap with those of the HOC has yet to be determined.

8. FUEL

Domestic production of gasoline continues to be slightly more than half of demand, and LPG production about 25% of demand, leading to a significant black market premium, shortages and queues.

The Bayji refinery, the only significant source of LPG production in Iraq, shutdown on the 23rd of June for two days due to power outages. In Baghdad, the Daura refinery plant, also reduced its production significantly due to power outages and organised sabotage attacks. Both of these events are affecting the supply of gasoline and diesel, exacerbating an already bad situation and increasing the need for imports. This also affects the domestic production of LPG for cooking etc.

Daily imports overland and through the newly-reopened port of Umm Qasr of more than 10 million liters of gasoline – more than double of only a week ago - and 1,500 tons of LPG are assisting the situation but availability of gasoline is still about 80% of demand.

LPG supply will continue to be acute - below 50% - for at least the next three to four weeks but should be eased by imports of 1,700 tons per day through the Khor Al-Zubayr terminal, several kilometers upstream from Umm Qasr, and the start-up of the Khor Al-Zubayr gas plant with daily production of 1,200 tons, both in mid-July.

For the complete version of the UNJLC weekly fuel bulletin see the website.

For Fuel availability in Iraq please see the website.

9. OTHER

UNJLC Syria will close its offices on the 30th June 2003.

UNHAS/UNJLC contact information.
The UNJLC and UNHAS are collocated in Amman at: PO Box 941631, Amman 11194 (it is very near (50m to the East) the UNDP building and maybe known to some as the old WFP building), in Sati Al Husari Street, in the district of Shemaissani. There is no house number but there are UNJLC and UNHAS signs on the gate post. Various points of contact are shown below.

Passenger Bookings: Saba Jamil and Bartholemou Dias
o Email: jose.caquarta@wfp.org
Also now: iraq.unhas@wfp.org
o Office phone: + 962 562 9737
o Mobile: TBN.
o Fax: + 962 656 92316

Regional Air Coordinator: Paul Steiner
o Email: paul.steiner@wfp.org
o Office phone: + 962 (0)6 562 7943.
o Mobile: + 962 (0)79 6969 381.
o Fax: + 962 656 92316.

Air Cargo: Kjersti Bang
o Email: kjersti.bang@wfp.org
o Office phone: + 962 (0)6 562 7943
o Mobile: + 962 (0) 79 6969 392
o Fax: + 962 656 92316

UNJLC Kuwait Office and Liaison Officer OCPA Air Authorities: Keith Chapman.
o Email: keith.chapman@wfp.org
o Office phone: TBN
o Fax: + 965 537 5034
o Mobile: + 965 937 6427