Battle for Mosul could create 'biggest (...) humanitarian crisis in the world this year'
Battle for Mosul: Civilians face 'impossible choice'
Aid groups warn huge numbers of civilians are at risk as a major offensive to recapture ISIL-held Mosul gathers pace.
Displaced people who fled Mosul sit tent at a refugee camp in Duhok [Ari Jalal/Reuters]
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As Iraqi armed forces and their allies move to reclaim the city of Mosul from ISIL fighters, humanitarian agencies are warning that the lives of a huge number of civilians are in grave danger.
Hours after the launch of the massive ground and air operation early on Monday, the United Nations said that an estimated 1.5 million people still live in the Mosul area, and up to one million people could flee their homes in search of safety.
Such a movement would create the biggest and most complex humanitarian crisis in the world this year, amid a wide-scale anti-ISIL operation involving Iraqi forces, Kurdish Peshmerga fighters, allied militias and US-led coalition air strikes.
"As the Mosul offensive begins, protecting civilians must be an essential part of military strategies," said Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
"This is crucial for the future of Iraq."
'Enormous danger'
Mosul is Iraq's second largest city and the last urban centre still under the armed group's control in the country after a series of government offensives to reverse its seizure of territory in 2014.
Analysts expect the battle for Mosul to last from many weeks to several months, exacerbating an already dire situation for residents struggling to afford food and access medicine.
"Civilians in Mosul are faced with an impossible choice and enormous danger whether they stay or flee," according to Alun McDonald, a Duhok-based spokesman for international charity Save the Children.
"If they stay put inside the city, they risk being killed in the crossfire or bombed, and trapped without aid," McDonald told Al Jazeera.
"If they try to flee, they risk being killed by snipers or landmines planted around the city."
But even if they do make it out of Mosul, there are only seven emergency camps set up outside Mosul, with a capacity of holding only 60,000 people, whereas hundreds of thousands are expected to flee.
"Many people want to escape but at the moment feel it's even more dangerous than staying," McDonald said.
Peshmerga forces in the east of Mosul as they prepare to attack ISIL positions [Azad Lashkari/Reuters]
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'Safe routes'
In the lead-up to the planned operation, Iraqi aircraft dropped "tens of thousands" of leaflets, some bearing safety instructions for Mosul residents, including asking families to stay indoors and put white flags on their homes.
But aid groups say such measures are not going to be enough to protect vulnerable parts of the population.
The priority, they insist, is to establish truly safe routes out of the city - despite a number of security challenges, including the potential presence of landmines and booby traps around the city.
"Ensuring there are safe corridors is a matter of life or death for civilians," McDonald said.
"We’ve seen in Aleppo [in Syria] at the moment the terrible impacts on children of being trapped in a military battlefield without any way to escape, so we need to make sure the same thing doesn't happen in Mosul."
'Moment of truth'
The battle to recapture Mosul comes after a series of Iraqi government offensives to reverse ISIL's seizure of territory, including in Fallujah, Ramadi and elsewhere.
Upon announcing the launch of the Mosul offensive, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi addressed residents in Mosul, a prominently Sunni city, saying that the goal of the advancing forces was to "get rid" of ISIL and "secure your dignity".
"Very soon, we will be among you to raise the Iraqi flag ... we have come to rescue you and save you from terror," he said.
Following a meeting with Abadi on Monday, Grandi, the UN refugee chief, said that he had received assurances from the government that civilian protection would be part of their military strategy to retake the city.
Grandi also said that the security screening of those fleeing the city should be conducted "in the most appropriate manner".
Back in June, some Iraqis who had escaped ISIL-held Fallujah said they were tortured while held captive by government-allied sectarian militias.
In July, Zeid Ra'ad al Hussein, the UN human rights chief, said there were "extremely distressing, credible reports" that civilians fleeing the fighting in Fallujah were facing extreme abuse and even death at the hands of Shia armed groups allied with the government troops.
"The way this offensive is carried out, as well as the treatment of the fleeing civilians at the hands of the fighting forces, and the effectiveness of the humanitarian response, will determine the future of Iraq and how Iraqis will live side by side with each other," Wolfgang Gressmann, country director for the Norwegian Refugee Council, said.
"We cannot let Iraqi civilians down again in this moment of truth."
SOURCE.
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Some additional links:
(1) Knocking on Mosul's door. As battle for strategic Iraqi city gets under way, hundreds of thousands of residents face imminent displacement. (This presents a series of photographs so please heed the trigger warnings.)
(2) An Amnesty International report on the humanitarian situation in Iraq in August warned of the dangers of this campaign. “We have witnessed how the vast majority of displaced people in camps or living in unfinished building sites across the country already have little or no access to basic necessities and medical care. The Iraqi authorities’ response to displaced people has been woefully insufficient and much of the world has largely ignored their plight. The potential influx of hundreds of thousands more displaced people fleeing the fighting and horrific abuses under IS control will push Iraq past breaking point with devastating consequences. The international community has ploughed the vast majority of their resources and efforts into providing support to the military operations to combat IS.”
(3) Here is a link to a really long post of mine which details the origins of IS (i.e. posted to this group).
(4) Another post of mine (to this group) dealing with Iraq (among other things, one of the articles shows how some people actually profit from war).
OP: Really really scary situation for these poor people caught in the middle.
Aid groups warn huge numbers of civilians are at risk as a major offensive to recapture ISIL-held Mosul gathers pace.
Displaced people who fled Mosul sit tent at a refugee camp in Duhok [Ari Jalal/Reuters]
--------------------
As Iraqi armed forces and their allies move to reclaim the city of Mosul from ISIL fighters, humanitarian agencies are warning that the lives of a huge number of civilians are in grave danger.
Hours after the launch of the massive ground and air operation early on Monday, the United Nations said that an estimated 1.5 million people still live in the Mosul area, and up to one million people could flee their homes in search of safety.
Such a movement would create the biggest and most complex humanitarian crisis in the world this year, amid a wide-scale anti-ISIL operation involving Iraqi forces, Kurdish Peshmerga fighters, allied militias and US-led coalition air strikes.
"As the Mosul offensive begins, protecting civilians must be an essential part of military strategies," said Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
"This is crucial for the future of Iraq."
'Enormous danger'
Mosul is Iraq's second largest city and the last urban centre still under the armed group's control in the country after a series of government offensives to reverse its seizure of territory in 2014.
Analysts expect the battle for Mosul to last from many weeks to several months, exacerbating an already dire situation for residents struggling to afford food and access medicine.
"Civilians in Mosul are faced with an impossible choice and enormous danger whether they stay or flee," according to Alun McDonald, a Duhok-based spokesman for international charity Save the Children.
"If they stay put inside the city, they risk being killed in the crossfire or bombed, and trapped without aid," McDonald told Al Jazeera.
"If they try to flee, they risk being killed by snipers or landmines planted around the city."
But even if they do make it out of Mosul, there are only seven emergency camps set up outside Mosul, with a capacity of holding only 60,000 people, whereas hundreds of thousands are expected to flee.
"Many people want to escape but at the moment feel it's even more dangerous than staying," McDonald said.
Peshmerga forces in the east of Mosul as they prepare to attack ISIL positions [Azad Lashkari/Reuters]
-----------------------
'Safe routes'
In the lead-up to the planned operation, Iraqi aircraft dropped "tens of thousands" of leaflets, some bearing safety instructions for Mosul residents, including asking families to stay indoors and put white flags on their homes.
But aid groups say such measures are not going to be enough to protect vulnerable parts of the population.
The priority, they insist, is to establish truly safe routes out of the city - despite a number of security challenges, including the potential presence of landmines and booby traps around the city.
"Ensuring there are safe corridors is a matter of life or death for civilians," McDonald said.
"We’ve seen in Aleppo [in Syria] at the moment the terrible impacts on children of being trapped in a military battlefield without any way to escape, so we need to make sure the same thing doesn't happen in Mosul."
'Moment of truth'
The battle to recapture Mosul comes after a series of Iraqi government offensives to reverse ISIL's seizure of territory, including in Fallujah, Ramadi and elsewhere.
Upon announcing the launch of the Mosul offensive, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi addressed residents in Mosul, a prominently Sunni city, saying that the goal of the advancing forces was to "get rid" of ISIL and "secure your dignity".
"Very soon, we will be among you to raise the Iraqi flag ... we have come to rescue you and save you from terror," he said.
Following a meeting with Abadi on Monday, Grandi, the UN refugee chief, said that he had received assurances from the government that civilian protection would be part of their military strategy to retake the city.
Grandi also said that the security screening of those fleeing the city should be conducted "in the most appropriate manner".
Back in June, some Iraqis who had escaped ISIL-held Fallujah said they were tortured while held captive by government-allied sectarian militias.
In July, Zeid Ra'ad al Hussein, the UN human rights chief, said there were "extremely distressing, credible reports" that civilians fleeing the fighting in Fallujah were facing extreme abuse and even death at the hands of Shia armed groups allied with the government troops.
"The way this offensive is carried out, as well as the treatment of the fleeing civilians at the hands of the fighting forces, and the effectiveness of the humanitarian response, will determine the future of Iraq and how Iraqis will live side by side with each other," Wolfgang Gressmann, country director for the Norwegian Refugee Council, said.
"We cannot let Iraqi civilians down again in this moment of truth."
SOURCE.
----------------------------
Some additional links:
(1) Knocking on Mosul's door. As battle for strategic Iraqi city gets under way, hundreds of thousands of residents face imminent displacement. (This presents a series of photographs so please heed the trigger warnings.)
(2) An Amnesty International report on the humanitarian situation in Iraq in August warned of the dangers of this campaign. “We have witnessed how the vast majority of displaced people in camps or living in unfinished building sites across the country already have little or no access to basic necessities and medical care. The Iraqi authorities’ response to displaced people has been woefully insufficient and much of the world has largely ignored their plight. The potential influx of hundreds of thousands more displaced people fleeing the fighting and horrific abuses under IS control will push Iraq past breaking point with devastating consequences. The international community has ploughed the vast majority of their resources and efforts into providing support to the military operations to combat IS.”
(3) Here is a link to a really long post of mine which details the origins of IS (i.e. posted to this group).
(4) Another post of mine (to this group) dealing with Iraq (among other things, one of the articles shows how some people actually profit from war).
OP: Really really scary situation for these poor people caught in the middle.