An Iraqi relief official has warned of the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation at refugee camps amid a surge in the number of civilians fleeing western Mosul.

“The humanitarian situation for refugees from western Mosul is worsening,” Iyad Rafed of the Iraqi Red Crescent Society told Anadolu Agency on Monday.

“The number of refugees fleeing the fighting continues to mount,” he said. “Rains and bad weather are aggravating the situation.”

According to Iraq’s Migration Ministry, a total of 355,000 civilians have fled Mosul since last October.

In a Monday statement, the ministry said that some 181,000 refugees had fled from the western side of Mosul alone.

“There is no room for more refugees at the Hammam al-Alil displacement camp southeast of Mosul, which currently houses 4,000 families,” he said.

The UN now expects the exodus of another 400,000 people from western Mosul as a result of the army’s ongoing anti-ISIS offensive in the city.

Last week, UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Iraq Lise Grande warned that the UN lacked sufficient resources to contain the anticipated exodus.

“The number of people [fleeing the city] is higher than expected,” Grande told journalists in New York via videoconference from Iraq.

“If the pace accelerates further,” she said, “it’s going to stretch us to the breaking point.”

PHOTO CAPTION

Displaced Iraqi people receive bread at the Hammam al-Alil camp, south of Mosul, Iraq, March 14, 2017. REUTERS

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