Baghdad: The United Nations says around 45,000 people have fled the fighting between Iraqi forces and Daesh terrorists in western Mosul over the past week, a 22 per cent increase from the previous week.
The UN humanitarian aid office said on Wednesday that the latest wave brought the total number of people displaced from western Mosul to about 135,000. OCHA says camp construction and site expansion “are accelerating to meet needs.”
US-backed Iraqi forces launched an operation on February 19 to drive Daesh from the western half of Iraq’s second largest city after declaring eastern Mosul “fully liberated” the previous month.
OCHA says about 330,000 people have been displaced since the Mosul operation began in October. Of those, only 72,000 have returned.
