The NGO Coordination Committee for Iraq (NCCI) started the new year with a safety and security coordination meeting on Monday January 11th at Mercy Corps’ Baghdad office. Safety and security coordination meetings are held regularly in Baghdad to discuss current security and access issues and to share relevant information among NGOs operating in areas outside of the KR-I.

Representatives of eight international NGOs attended the meeting, which started by discussing the current security situation in a number of Iraqi provinces. Also discussed were ongoing military operations and security measures directed against various armed groups. Ongoing violence and confrontations between security forces and armed groups remain a threat to NGOs and civilians in Iraq, and often impede access to various areas.

Later this week, on Thursday January 15th, an Advocacy Working Group meeting will take place in Erbil, where – among other subjects – the upcoming Operational Peer Review will be discussed. Next week NCCI will hold 2 General Coordination Meetings, one in Baghdad and one in Erbil, where NGOs will be invited to discuss different issues on coordination and humanitarian operations in Iraq.