Over 114,000 people uprooted by fighting in central Iraq

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that more than 114,000 people have been displaced by fighting in Ramadi, a city in central Iraq, and humanitarian agencies and partners continue to respond to the needs of these displaced people, Farhan Haq, the deputy UN spokesman, told reporters here Monday.

Ramadi is located about 110 kilometers west of Baghdad, the Iraqi capital. It is the capital of Anbar governorate

"The Anbar Provincial Council reported that families continued to return to Ramadi City over the last few days," Haq said. "Heavy fighting was reported over the weekend north of Fallujah."

"Humanitarian agencies and partners continue to respond to the needs of the displaced people," he said. "Some 1,100 people in Abu Ghraib District and the Doura area of Baghdad, received core relief items through the UN Refugee Agency."

The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) distributed 1,584 water and sanitation kits, including water, hygiene items and buckets in Baghdad governorate.

More than 90,000 people are fleeing fighting in Anbar governorate, the United Nations said last week, as the Iraqi government and aid groups struggled to assist the legions of newly displaced..

"Our top priority is delivering life-saving assistance to people who are fleeing -- food, water, and shelter," Lise Grande, the UN humanitarian coordinator for Iraq, said in a statement.

Pro-government forces have been engaged in intense clashes with Islamic State militants for control of Ramadi. Iraqi commanders say they are rushing police and military reinforcements to Ramadi to prevent the city from being overrun. Street battles have been raging in the city and in outlying suburbs and towns, authorities say.

The nearby city of Falluja has been under militant control for more than a year. But government forces have managed to maintain their presence in Ramadi. Enditem