Hundreds of people fled the Fallujah area Friday as forces pressed simultaneous offensives on the Iraqi city.

An estimated 50,000 civilians remained trapped in Fallujah city however, as well as twice that number along Syria's border with Turkey.

Tens of thousands of Iraqi forces on May 22-23 launched an offensive to retake Fallujah.

IS fighters holed up in Fallujah are believed to number around 1,000 and while the myriad forces involved in the operation have moved closer, none have yet entered the city proper.

The city has been surrounded by pro-government forces for months and concern has been mounting among humanitarian groups that the population was being deliberately starved.

Trapped civilians

"The situation inside Fallujah is getting critical by the day," said Nasr Muflahi, the Norwegian Refugee Council's Iraq director.

Despite plans before the operation for safe corridors, few civilians have managed to flee the Fallujah battle in recent days.

PHOTO CAPTION

Iraqi Shi'ite militias gather in the town of Garma, Iraq, May 26, 2016. [REUTERS]

Agencies