Thousands more Iraqis flee Mosul battles

08/01/2017| IslamWeb

More than 13,000 civilians have fled Iraq's Mosul over the past five days since government troops began the second phase in a battle to retake the city from ISIL last week, the United Nations has said.

"The average daily displacement numbers have increased by nearly 50 percent since military operations intensified, some 1,600 to more than 2,300 displaced per day," UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said.

Iraqi troops, backed by US-led coalition air strikes, resumed their push to retake the northern city after a two-week lull in the operation. The military says it has taken back more than 60 percent of the city since the offensive began in October last year.

To date, nearly 130,000 out of 1.5 million Iraqis have been displaced from Mosul and its surrounding areas owing to the fighting, the spokesman added at a news briefing. Approximately 50,000 children have been affected by the conflict.

The UN refugee agency described the humanitarian situation as "dire" with food stockpiles dwindling and the price of staples spiraling, boreholes drying up or turning brackish from over-use and camps and emergency sites to the south and east reaching maximum capacity.

In a report published last week, the agency said as many as one million people are estimated to be out of reach of humanitarian assistance.

PHOTO CAPTION

A displaced Iraqi boy holds up a white flag while fleeing Samah neighborhood, Mosul, Iraq. REUTERS

Al-Jazeera