Norwegian Foreign Minister Børge Brende announced Wednesday that the Norwegian government will send NOK 60 million (USD 10 million) in humanitarian aid to Iraq, which has been invaded by the extremist Islamic group ISIL during the past week. The money is meant to help provide food, water, housing, health care and protection to thousands of suddenly displaced persons fleeing the Islamic extremists.
“We now see that ISIL is controlling an area from Aleppo (in Syria) to Mosul (in Iraq), and that’s something no one foresaw a year ago,” Brende said at the international peace broking seminar Oslo Forum he’s hosting at the tranquil Losby estate and golf resort in Lørenskog, northeast of Oslo.
“So Iraq now needs help to handle this crisis,” Brende said. “Therefore we’re giving 10 million American dollars for humanitarian work in Iraq.” Norway’s funding to help Iraq fend off its latest crisis will be channeled through the UN, the Red Cross and volunteer organizations already in Iraq.
newsinenglish.no staff
