More than 13,000 people have fled Mosul in just five days since 29 December, as the second phase of military operations to retake the Iraqi city from Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da’esh) terrorists has begun, a United Nations spokesperson said Tuesday.
“The average daily displacement numbers have increased by nearly 50 per cent since military operations intensified, some 1,600 to more than 2,300 displaced per day,” said UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric.
Humanitarian assistance continues to be distributed into newly accessible neighbourhoods in the city’s eastern section. Over 1,000 cubic metres of water is being trucked daily and food and non-food items have reached people in four neighbourhoods which have not been serviced since before by international humanitarian partners, the spokesperson said.
The military campaign began on 17 October last year. In total, nearly 130,000 people are now displaced from Mosul and surrounding areas due to the fighting, the spokesman added.
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