Western Mosul refugees numbers exceed 281,000
Newly internally displaced people queue to receive humanitarian packages at Al Khazer camp near Hassan Sham, east of Mosul, Iraq November 2, 2016. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra
The Iraqi Ministry of Migration and Displacement said in a statement on Monday that the “Number of the displaced civilians from western Mosul went up to 281,630 persons, and those were distributed among the ministry camps in the south and east of the city.”
“The ministry teams received today 6,855 displaced persons from the west of Nineveh. They were provided shelter at camps of al-Narkezliya, al-Jadaa, al-Haj Ali, al-Madraj, al-Khazer, Hassan Sham and Jamkour,” it added.
The statement also indicated that “the ministry provided all essential needs of food and medical requirements at stores, in case more families were displaced from western Mosul.”
Last week, the ministry estimated the number of displaced people from the west of Mosul by 260,000 and expected 150,000 more to leave homes as operations continue to recapture the remaining districts in the region.
On Sunday, the United Nations said that more than 320,000 were displaced since the Iraqi forces, backed by a U.S.-led coalition, launched the offensive in October to retake Mosul from Islamic State.
More than 400.000 were displaced due to the conflict in Mosul since operations were launched in October. Over four million persons were displaced inside the country since the emergence of IS in 2014.