Erbil, Iraq, November 25, 2016 — While more than 30,000 people have managed to flee east Mosul so far, around a million remain trapped in the city as an ever-intensifying battle rages around them. Hundreds of people a week are being injured and killed from the fighting or by sniper-fire as they attempt to flee, and dozens of wounded civilians are arriving each day at field hospitals at the edge of Mosul.
To avoid further civilian casualties in Mosul, the International Rescue Committee is calling for Iraqi forces to open-up safe routes for people to escape the fighting. With the fight to retake the city likely to continue until the spring, the IRC is also concerned that not enough food and medicine will reach families unable to escape.
With the battle taking place on their doorstep it is very dangerous for civilians remaining in Mosul right now. Even with the best efforts of the Iraqi forces to keep residents out of harm’s way, the fighting is just too intense. We know some people are choosing to stay in Mosul because of the fear of being targeted by snipers as they try and flee, which is why Iraqi forces need to do everything they can to ensure there are safe routes of escape. The fighting in Mosul also makes it very difficult to deliver aid and with supplies already running low there are also fears that families will soon be without any food or medicine.
-Alex Milutinovic, IRC Iraq Country Director
IRC mobile teams are responding to the north, south and east of Mosul. As well as providing essential hygiene, household and women’s items such as soap, laundry powder, towels and sanitary towels at Khazir and Zelikan displacement camps. IRC teams are also helping displaced Iraqis access healthcare and other vital services, as well as provide activities for children to help them cope and ensure women and girls are protected and supported. The IRC is additionally distributing cash to families displaced within communities around Tikrit and Kirkuk to help them pay for rent, food and other basics.
Watch Iraqis who fled their homes during the battle for Mosul describe living under ISIS here.
To schedule an interview with IRC spokespeople in Erbil, London or NY, please contact:
Paul Donohoe, Senior Media Officer, Beirut - +961 81 757 175, paul.donohoe [at] rescue.org.
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The International Rescue Committee responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises, helping to restore health, safety, education, economic wellbeing, and power to people devastated by conflict and disaster. Founded in 1933 at the call of Albert Einstein, the IRC is at work in over 40 countries and 29 U.S. cities helping people to survive, reclaim control of their future and strengthen their communities. Learn more at www.rescue.org and follow the IRC on Twitter & Facebook.