WFP resumes food delivery in Iraq's largest governorate

The UN World Food Program ( WFP) has resumed delivering food assistance in Iraq's largest governorate al-Anbar for the first time since May, a UN spokesperson said here on Thursday.

This week, the WFP distributed the first batches of food to displaced Iraqi families in Ramadi and Heet cities in the war-torn governorate, an area encompassing much of the western part of Iraq, UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq said at a daily briefing.

The latest deliveries, which target an estimated 76,000 people who are part of a massive displacement of families fleeing fighting, bring the total number of people assisted by the WFP in Iraq since mid-June to over 838,000, Haq said.

The humanitarian situation in Iraq continues to deteriorate because of fighting. Throughout the country, more than 1.5 million people have been displaced in precarious conditions -- many without access to food, water or other basic essentials.

The organization has been using new routes to deliver food and in the coming days, the spokesman said, adding that it expects to reach families displaced in volatile areas, including the southern region of al-Anbar, Iraq's largest governorate bordering Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

The agency said in a press release that WFP's operations in Iraq have been rapidly scaled up in recent weeks, thanks to a 148. 9 million U.S. dollar contribution in July from Saudi Arabia that has helped the agency respond quickly to the humanitarian crisis.