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Global

Iraq needs $1.56 billion in 2016 for humanitarian response to Islamic State


    BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq needs $1.56 billion this year to finance its response to the humanitarian crisis caused by the war against Islamic State, which has displaced more than 3.3 million people since 2014, according to a government report released on Sunday.

    Baghdad, strapped for cash amid a plunge in oil prices, will manage to fund less than 43 percent of those needs from its budget, the report said.

    "The international community is necessary for bridging the deficit or financing gap," it added.

    (Reporting by Saif Hameed; Writing by Stephen Kalin; Editing by Catherine Evans)