• 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

UNHAS flights into Iraq are now routine but still remain subject to changes by the Coalition. The UNJLC website now contains the schedule of the passenger flights from Amman which fly daily except on Fridays. Please see http://www.unjlc.org/iraq/air/02_01.html.

There is an urgent need to establish a customs and immigration system at Basrah as humanitarian and Coalition sponsored contractor traffic is increasing significantly. With the lifting of sanctions much heavier, commercial traffic is expected in the near future.

With the scaling down of the Oil for Food Programme (OFFP) UN agencies, ORHA and NGOs are increasingly making Mosul the upcoming de-facto hub for humanitarian and reconstruction efforts North of Baghdad. The imminent opening of Mosul airport for UNHAS flights will support this trend.

In Syria, truck drivers returning from Iraq are reporting queues of 2-3 hours for diesel and 2-3 days for petrol/benzine.

UNJLC has now relocated to Amman from Larnaca. UNHAS is expected to move operations to Amman at the end of next week.

2. SECURITY

Iraq: Most of Northern, Southern and main urban areas in Iraq (except Kirkuk) are at phase 4. In Baghdad, the Coalition Provisional Authority has drafted a disarmament policy which allows a 40 day amnesty for individuals surrendering their weapons. Sales of weapons have increased dramatically with AK47 rifles now available for 50USD. In Al Hillah, a journalist was killed and an anti-coalition note pinned to his body. DART reports that local translators in Al Hillah, working for the Occupying Powers, have been threatened. In the North-west of Iraq, UNSECOORD has declared the Sinjar region (Ninewa) unsafe for humanitarian activity. The highway between Erbil and Baghdad has also been declared unsafe with numerous reports of incidents.

Jordan: The country remains at security phase 2.

Syria: The country remains at security phase 1.

Iran: The country remains at security phase 2 in those provinces that border Iraq or Afghanistan and phase 1 everywhere else.

3. AIR OPERATIONS

UNHAS flights into Iraq are now routine but still remain subject to changes by the Coalition. The UNJLC website now contains the schedule of the passenger flights from Amman which fly daily except on Fridays. Please see http://www.unjlc.org/iraq/air/02_01.html.

UNHAS are centralising all aircraft assets (except the IL 76) to operate from the Jordanian airport of Marka (Amman). The IL 76 cargo only aircraft continues to be fully utilised as does the Belgium Air Force C-130.A Boeing 737, 100+ seat aircraft arrived on 21 May and flew its first schedule on 22 May 03.

Pending final amendment by UNHAS, the 4th Draft of the Standard Administration and Operating Procedures (SAOPs) which describes passenger and cargo booking procedures is on the UNJLC website.

Plans are underway to potentially move air operations from Erbil airport to Mosul contingent on a test flight that is scheduled during the next few days. Arrangements are being made to hire a forklift and operator so that cargo maybe re-routed to Mosul by the 30th May if the test flight is successful.

Passenger and cargo booking will continue to be processed in Larnaca until UNHAS completes its move to Jordan next week. Pending the completion of this move, the next meeting of the Air Cargo User Group has been postponed.

UNJLC Jordan is in the process of negotiating ground handling fees currently being charged by Royal Jordanian and Royal Wings at both international airports.

A 25% discount on handling and equipment charges has been negotiated with the Syrian Arab Airlines (SAA) for humanitarian cargo flights.

In Iraq, Bechtel reports that Baghdad and Basrah international airports will be open to commercial traffic on the 15th June and 1st July respectively.

With the support of UNJLC, UNHAS has established a regular passenger service at Basrah airport.

In Al Hillah, a soft surface airfield, approximately 750 meters in length suitable for small aircraft and crop dusters has been visited. No light aircraft are at the airfield at this time.

4. BORDER CROSSING AND CUSTOMS

There is an urgent need to establish a customs and immigration system at Basrah as humanitarian and Coalition sponsored contractor traffic is increasing significantly. With the lifting of sanctions much heavier, commercial traffic is expected in the near future.

UNICEF has been experiencing lengthy delays while transporting much needed drinking water across the Kuwaiti border into Iraq. UNJLC’s customs advisor has contacted Kuwaiti customs to identify the source of the problem.

Border crossing at the Syrian borders is going smoothly mainly through the Yarubiye and Al Tant crossing points. Shipment of vehicles (with HF/VHF equipment) is permitted through Syria (from Jordan, Lebanon or Turkey) provided the cargo does not stay in-country longer than 15 days and that the radios are not used. Despite the ban on commercial traffic crossing the borders, there have been unofficial reports of heavy commercial traffic at the borders.

5. TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE

The road network from the Turkish border to Mosul (1.5 hour drive) is in excellent condition and for the majority of the highway is 2 lanes by 2 lanes.

UNJLC Erbil reports that the availability of warehouse space in the 3 northern governorates is sufficient for the humanitarian communities needs. Some warehouses/silos visited are reported to be in poor condition and require extensive maintenance work.

A rapid railway assessment was undertaken in Al Hillah by UNJLC. The report which will be available on the UNJLC web site (www.unjlc.org) shortly, indicates the availability of one diesel-electric locomotive (in need of repair) and several box and flat cars. A basic rail service between Basrah and Baghdad, running through Al Hillah, is operating twice a day.

In Iraq, the Al Rutbah bridge on highway 10, 174km east of the Jordan/Iraq border will remain closed for approximately two months while repairs are underway.

The grain port at Umm Qasr will be opened on the 1st June.

In Mosul, rental prices for office space are being reported as ten times higher the equivalent in Erbil.

As mentioned in the last bulletin, the railway between Syria and Iraq is operational and being used extensively by Coalition Provincial Authorities (CPA) for transporting equipment in the Northern parts of Iraq only. The railway is also being used extensively on the Syrian side although there is no cross border railway traffic. Transit from the Syrian border to Mosul takes approximately 3-4 hours and from Mosul to Baghdad, approximately 10 hours. Available are 20 x 75MT boxes, 6 tankers and an unknown number of flatbeds. The Syrian railway authorities have provided a detailed map of the railway network available on the UNJLC website.

6. LOGISTICS COORDINATION

In Erbil, UNJLC hosted the first Inter Agency Logistics Coordination Meeting on the 24th May. Present were WFP, WHO, UNOPS, UNDP, UNICEF, UNHAS and UNOCHI. During the meeting the participants discussed how to organise fuel supplies; installation of runway lights at the airstrip and general information on transport contracts and other logistic arrangements.

In Basrah, UNICEF is preparing to rent warehouses at the port. UNJLC will negotiate the availability of additional warehouses at the port of Umm Qasr. UNJLC has offered to WFP the use of 4 vacuvators present in the Old Port warehouse.

UNJLC Basrah are coordinating negotiations with private companies to establish a common agreement for the servicing of UN vehicles. One large, international company is offering a combined package including warehousing, fuel supply and vehicle maintenance.

With the scaling down of the Oil for Food Programme (OFFP) UN agencies, ORHA and NGOs are increasingly making Mosul the upcoming de-facto hub for humanitarian and reconstruction efforts North of Baghdad. The imminent opening of Mosul airport for UNHAS flights will support this trend.

7. CIVIL-MILITARY COORDINATION

The Coalition has presented the new Governance plan for the Basrah province.

In Al Hillah, the Civil Military Operations Centre has announced that the priorities in the area include improving fuel supply, security, electricity and stabilising a local government.

8. FUEL

There is still a chronic shortage of LPG and gasoline in the south despite the measures to import fuel from abroad. A build-up of crude oil in the storage containers in the south is threatening to overload the refinery systems and halt the flow of crude oil. An export programme involving the sale of oil to Turkey combined with an export initiative through a Southern off-shore terminal at Mina al Bakr should start the flow of crude oil.

In Syria, truck drivers returning from Iraq are reporting queues of 2-3 hours for diesel and 2-3 days for petrol/benzine.

Fuel availability see the website.

9. OTHER

UNJLC has now relocated to Amman from Larnaca. UNHAS is expected to move operations to Amman at the end of next week.

The HOC (Kuwait) has announced that a cell phone network should be available in the Baghdad area ‘in the near future’.

On the 27th May, UNJLC closed its office in Tehran thereby ending its presence in Iran.