Iraq calls for stepped-up support for Mosul’s displaced

By Ali Jawad

BAGHDAD (AA) - Iraq’s Immigration and Displacement Ministry urged the UN and other international organizations on Tuesday to step up their support for civilians who had recently fled their homes due to ongoing fighting in and around Mosul.

"In tandem with the military operation to retake western Mosul [from Daesh], we hope to see greater and more serious support from the UN and other organizations working in Iraq to provide displaced persons with humanitarian relief," Deputy Minister Jassem al-Attiya said in a statement.

"Providing relief for displaced families is everyone's responsibility," he said.

Al-Attiya added: "The severe humanitarian situation in Mosul -- and the large number of civilians suffering there due to atrocities committed by Daesh -- pushed us to issue this appeal."

According to the UN, some 750,000 civilians now face grave danger in western Mosul.

Last week, the London-based Oxfam group noted that humanitarian conditions in western Mosul had deteriorated sharply since the city’s supply routes were cut last November when the eastern half of the city fell to the Iraqi army.

On Sunday, the army began a wide-ranging operation aimed at purging remaining Daesh terrorists from Mosul’s western districts.

The offensive comes as part of a wider operation launched last October to retake the city, which Daesh overran in mid-2014.