Mosul exodus grows as Iraqi army advances towards Isil-held old city centre

The exodus from war-battered Mosul passed 200,000 people on Sunday, as US-backed Iraqi forces launched a fresh push towards the Isil-held old city centre.

کد خبر: ۶۷۴۲۲۶

تاریخ: ۱۶ اسفند ۱۳۹۵ - ۱۰:۴۵

Telegraph - The exodus from war-battered Mosul passed 200,000 people on Sunday, as US-backed Iraqi forces launched a fresh push towards the Isil-held old city centre.

The speed of displacement has accelerated as fighting approaches the most densely populated areas of west Mosul, with more than 40,000 men, women and children fleeing in the past week alone.

By Sunday evening, Iraqi forces were in sight of the main government complex in Mosul.

Lt. Colonel Abdel Amir al-Mohammadawi said elite troops were "very close” to the complex and expected to take it on Monday.

Sunday marked the first military progress after a stretch of heavy rain put a damper on fighting and turned the city’s roads into barely-passable muddy tracts.

Many of those leaving the city in recent days, particularly children, did so barefoot in mud to the knees and driving rain.

The International Organisation for Migration said the number of people uprooted since the start of the offensive in October exceeded 206,000 on Sunday, up from 164,000 on February 26.

International aid agencies have warned that camps to accommodate displaced people are approaching capacity.

When the battle for Mosul was launched in October, a million-plus civilians were thought to still live inside Iraq's second city, which is Isil's last major bastion in the country.

Aid agencies have lowered their estimates since then, but are scrambling to prepare for more than 250,000 people.

Iraq's minister of displacement and migration has criticised UN-led efforts to aid those displaced by the fighting.

While the UN has described its assistance to displaced Iraqis a "top priority", conditions at camps for displaced people are notably grim, with basic goods in short supply.

On Sunday, Britain agreed a £10 billion loan for reconstruction projects in Iraq over the coming decade.

The funding would only benefit British companies, and is earmarked for specific projects including water, sewage, electricity, healthcare and transport.

"For the United Kingdom this is a further evidence of the bilateral support that we are giving and continue to give to Iraq, to help Iraq move forward to recover from the ravages of Daesh," British ambassador Frank Baker said using Isil's Arabic acronym.

Much of the country’s infrastructure has been damaged and neglected in the 14 years since the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq.