The International Organisation for Migration (IOM), on Tuesday said some 68,100 individuals have fled the Iraqi city of Mosul since military operations to recapture one of the Islamic State’s (IS) last strongholds began on October 17.
IOM Iraq Chief of Mission, Thomas Weiss said in a statement that the number of displaced people continued to increase, even as they saw more people returning to their homes.
“Making sure displaced people as well as affected communities are receiving assistance is more critical than ever as temperatures are close to freezing at night”, Weiss added.
According to figures, some 6,120 individuals were forced to flee the center of Mosul on November 19 as a result of indiscriminate shelling carried out by IS fighters.
A further 3,180 civilians were displaced on Nov. 18 and Nov. 21, with most internally displaced people arriving at Khazer M1 camp.
IOM revealed that around 78 per cent of those recently displaced by Mosul operation are living in formal camps.
A further 16 per cent have taken shelter in private settings, while 6 per cent are in critical shelter arrangements and less that one per cent are passing through screening sites.
Iraqi troops kicked off operations in October to take back the city which fell into IS hands in June 2014 after government forces abandoned their weapons and fled.
The support by Kurdish Peshmerga fighters enabled IS militants to take control of parts of Iraq’s northern and western regions.
International aircraft as well as Iraqi and U.S-led coalition artillery units are supporting ground operations there.
According to reports, over 5,000 IS militants were initially holed up in Mosul, though they are losing ground amid ongoing military operations.
The UN Refugee Agency had warned before the military campaign kicked off that as many as 1.2 million civilians could be displaced by fighting. (Xinhua/NAN)