UN: Mosul Liberation Could Trigger Major Humanitarian Crisis
The U.N.’s top diplomat in Iraq is warning that the expected military operation to liberate the city of Mosul from Islamic State fighters could become the world’s biggest humanitarian crisis. “OCHA [UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs] estimates that the Mosul operation will be the largest and most sensitive humanitarian crisis in the […]Margaret Besheer writes for Voice of America:
The U.N.’s top diplomat in Iraq is warning that the expected military operation to liberate the city of Mosul from Islamic State fighters could become the world’s biggest humanitarian crisis.
“OCHA [UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs] estimates that the Mosul operation will be the largest and most sensitive humanitarian crisis in the world in 2016,” Iraq envoy Jan Kubis told the U.N. Security Council in a briefing on Friday. Mosul is Iraq’s second largest city.
He said a U.N. aid appeal for $861 million stands at less than 40 percent funded, and a reallocation of existing resources is urgently required, not just to meet current emergency needs, but for those anticipated for the Mosul liberation campaign.
“The [Mosul] humanitarian effort could cost as much as $1 billion,” Kubis warned.
Iraq is already classified as a Level 3 emergency — the highest crisis category. Currently, the U.N. estimates more than 10 million Iraqis require some form of humanitarian assistance — including the 3.4 million people who have been displaced since the rise of the self-styled Islamic State began in 2014.
