As Iraqi Forces Prepare To Attack Mosul, A Civilian Exodus Could Follow
For more than two years, the Islamic State has held Mosul, in northern Iraq, in a stranglehold. People who have fled say the militants terrorize people, conduct public executions, recruit children as fighters, forbid communication with the outside world — all in the name of enforcing a brutal regime they call Islamic. That could now […]For more than two years, the Islamic State has held Mosul, in northern Iraq, in a stranglehold. People who have fled say the militants terrorize people, conduct public executions, recruit children as fighters, forbid communication with the outside world — all in the name of enforcing a brutal regime they call Islamic.
That could now be set to change. Iraq's security forces and their allies are readying for an assault on the city. The roads to the city are defended and ISIS is expected to fight fiercely, but security officials insist they will take Mosul back soon.
At the same time, fears are growing that people still in the city — maybe more than a million residents — will leave in a mass displacement or be caught up in the fighting with no way out.
