U.N. sees western Mosul assault driving out 250,000 civilians
A renewed assault on Islamic State fighters in the Iraqi city of Mosul could force 250,000 civilians to flee, if they can find a way out, the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR said on Friday. Such an exodus would be on top of roughly 162,000 people already displaced by Iraqi government efforts to retake the city […]A renewed assault on Islamic State fighters in the Iraqi city of Mosul could force 250,000 civilians to flee, if they can find a way out, the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR said on Friday.
Such an exodus would be on top of roughly 162,000 people already displaced by Iraqi government efforts to retake the city since October. Such numbers, although high, remain well below UNHCR's initial contingency plans, which anticipated a million people or more fleeing from the city.
An expected intensification of fighting around Hawija, 130 km southeast of Mosul, could displace another 114,000, adding to the 82,000 who have fled since August, risking ambushes and death.
