Int. organization warns of a humanitarian crisis in Mousl

As the battle against the Islamic State (IS) in western Mosul draws to an end, thousands of displaced people require desperate humanitarian assistance, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

In a recent report, IOM Iraq’s Hala Jaber highlighted the “stark differences” in eastern Mosul compared to the western part of the city. “All indications show east Mosul to be recovering at a rapid pace, with much of its life returning to normal and a significant portion of services restored,” Jaber explained.

“West Mosul’s rise from the ashes is expected to take much longer,” the IOM representative added. Kurdish Peshmerga and Iraqi security forces, backed by US-led coalition airstrikes, launched an offensive to recapture Mosul from IS in October 2016.

The eastern part of the city was liberated in January 2017 before the second phase to free western Mosul began in February. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced victory against the militant group on July 10, after nearly ten months of fierce fighting.

In February, the UN Humanitarian Response Plan for Iraq warned of a humanitarian crisis as the Mosul offensive continued. “The operation in Mosul has the potential to be the single largest humanitarian operation in the world in 2017,” the agency stated.

IOM, a UN Migration Agency, is currently providing humanitarian support to the tens of thousands of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) who fled Mosul. “The scale of destruction in west Mosul is enormous, and the challenge of reconstruction is no small feat,” IOM’s Iraq Chief of Mission Thomas Lothar Weiss explained.

According to the organization, over 845,000 individuals (140,000 families) are still displaced with about 225,000 IDPs slowly returning to their places of origin.

On the other hand, Iraqi Interior Ministry announced that it managed to arrest the killer of a doctor and the gangs that kidnapped Iraqi doctors in Baghdad. The ministry said, in a press statement, that security forces will take strict measures against the criminal gangs and called the citizens for helping them.

It added that they managed to arrest a gang composed of 4 persons in the district of New Baghdad, saying that they work to kidnap doctor to take ransoms. It added that they took serious actions against them and referred them to trial.

Four security personnel were killed as Islamic State attacked troops at a market in western Mosul, a source from Nineveh police was quoted saying. “Security troops deployed at al-Maash market clashed with IS members who attempted attacking the troops,” Cap. Amir Wathiq told BasNews on Tuesday. “The clashes left four police personnel, including a lieutenant general, killed.”

“The attacking elements ran away to an unknown destination, as security reinforcements arrived and police cordoned off the region,” he added. On Monday, news reports said four civilians were killed while three others, including two policemen, were wounded as a booby-trapped vehicle exploded in Bab Sinjar market in western Mosul.

Despite declaring victory over IS, the group have reportedly carried out attacks against security forces over the past few days. Earlier this month, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi congratulated Iraqi forces and citizens on the victory over IS militants who had held the second largest Iraqi city since 2014. More than 25000 militants were killed throughout the campaign. Violence in the country has surged further with the emergence of Islamic State Sunni extremist militants who proclaimed an “Islamic Caliphate” in Iraq and Syria in 2014.