MIDDLE EAST: Pick of the month - April 2015

	humanitarian news and analysis

Table of contents 1. Photo feature: Yemeni civilians in the crossfire 2. Yarmouk - a timeline of suffering 3. Few escape routes for refugees and migrants trapped in Yemen 4. Briefing: Should 'killer robots' be banned? 5. In Pictures: On the migration road in Serbia 6. Young Iraqis bridging the sectarian divide 7. Shipping ban deepens Yemen's fuel crisis 8. Prison or poverty: Impossible choice for Israel deportees 9. In photos: A day in the life of Benghazi's war 10. Displaced Iraqis blocked from Baghdad 11. Yemenis need trade more than Saudi aid 12. Top picks: Migrant boats, Islamic State and World Bank controversy 13. Aid agencies pour into Nepal - and then what? Photo feature: Yemeni civilians in the crossfire SANA'A, 6 April 2015 (IRIN) - As the aerial bombardment of Yemen stretches towards a third week and the country's civil war continues its downward spiral, more and more civilians are becoming trapped in the crossfire. IRIN travelled to the central region of Ibb to see the impact on the people. Read report online Yarmouk - a timeline of suffering BEIRUT, 8 April 2015 (IRIN) - The Islamic State has now entered the Yarmouk camp for Palestinians on the outskirts of the Syrian capital Damascus. An interactive timeline of four years of suffering in the camp. Read report online Few escape routes for refugees and migrants trapped in Yemen LONDON, 8 April 2015 (IRIN) - As the Saudi-led aerial bombardment of Yemen intensifies and a full-scale civil war appears increasingly inevitable, there are few immediate escape routes for well over a million African migrants and refugees in the country. Read report online Briefing: Should 'killer robots' be banned? GENEVA, 14 April 2015 (IRIN) - Drones are already doing a lot of killing on behalf of certain governments, but a human being still has to make a conscious decision somewhere and press a button. What if killing machines were programmed to take such decisions all by themselves? Read report online In Pictures: On the migration road in Serbia BELGRADE , 15 April 2015 (IRIN) - Serbia has been hosting refugees from Croatia and Bosnia for the past 20 years, but was unprepared for a recent influx of new asylum seekers, the majority of them from Syria, Afghanistan and Somalia. Read report online Young Iraqis bridging the sectarian divide BAGHDAD / DUBAI, 15 April 2015 (IRIN) - Islamic State militants play on sectarian division as they tear Iraq apart, but a group of young Iraqi "citizen ambassadors" is trying to mend the damage by promoting a message of tolerance and peace. Read report online Shipping ban deepens Yemen's fuel crisis AMMAN/SANA'A, 16 April 2015 (IRIN) - A ban on shipping in Yemeni waters is worsening a severe fuel shortage that has already had a major impact on public health as the country endures a Saudi-led bombing campaign and intense fighting on the ground. Read report online Prison or poverty: Impossible choice for Israel deportees JERUSALEM/KAMPALA, 16 April 2015 (IRIN) - For Eritrean and Sudanese asylum-seekers facing deportation from Israel's Holot detention centre, the future is bleak. Those who have gone before describe a hand-to-mouth existence in Uganda or no freedom of movement in Rwanda. Read report online In photos: A day in the life of Benghazi's war BENGHAZI, 20 April 2015 (IRIN) - In 2011, the Libyan city of Benghazi was the capital of the revolution that toppled President Muammar Gaddafi. Four years on, the city is a front line in a brutal civil war. Those residents who haven't escaped are practicing escapism. Read report online Displaced Iraqis blocked from Baghdad BAGHDAD, 20 April 2015 (IRIN) - Thousands of Iraqis fleeing the so-called Islamic State are being prevented from entering Baghdad and other cities because local officials fear IS sleeper cells could be among them. Read report online Yemenis need trade more than Saudi aid BEIRUT, 23 April 2015 (IRIN) - If the Saudi Arabian-led coalition wants to prove its commitment to the people of Yemen, it must allow freer access for trade vessels. Trade, not aid, is the real humanitarian priority right now. Read report online Top picks: Migrant boats, Islamic State and World Bank controversy LONDON, 24 April 2015 (IRIN) - Welcome to IRIN's weekly assortment of noteworthy humanitarian journalism and research, compiled by the editorial team. This week - a deep dive into the Islamic State, Sudan's Southern Kordofan and the World Bank's dubious practices. Read report online Aid agencies pour into Nepal - and then what? OXFORD, 29 April 2015 (IRIN) - In the immediate aftermath of a disaster of the scale of Nepal's 7.8-magnitude earthquake, the scramble by aid agencies to respond can easily descend into chaos. Read report online

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