Refugees up to 160.000 since start of Mosul operations: ministry
Iraqi refugees in Mosul
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) The number of refugees who had escaped fields of battles between Islamic State militants and Iraqi forces in Mosul has reached 160.000 since the start of operations in October to retake the province, according to the Ministry of Migration and Displacement.
Over that period since the launch of battles, 20.000 people have been returned to their hometowns in the province, the ministry said in a statement on Thursday.
On Wednesday, the United Nations said 130.000 people had migrated from Nineveh’s city of Mosul since October. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said the rate of daily migration from the province soared by 50% since Iraqi forces launched a second phase of operations on December 29th to retake Mosul. OCHA said 15000 people fled the province in five days.
United Nations estimates put the number of internally-displaced Iraqis at above 3 million since January 2014, and had voiced concerns over the fate of one million Iraqis in Mosul upon the launch of military operations. Refugees at camps are also reported to suffer from inclement weather conditions and medicine and food shortages. Some have also been targeted by IS militants upon their attempt to flee the province, according to humanitarian and aid groups.