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Refugees from western Mosul beyond 200.000: parliament committee

 Refugees from western Mosul beyond 200.000: parliament committee

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

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
Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) Iraqi refugees who have fled battles between the Islamic State and Iraqi security forces in western Mosul have surpassed 200.000 since operations to recapture that area launched mid February, according to a parliament committee.

The announcement was made by Raad al-Dahlaki, a member of the Iraqi parliament’s migration committee, to Anadolu Agency on Thursday, criticizing the government’s and world organizations’ performance in that regard. The number is higher than the latest 181.000 count made by the government.

The United Nations said last year it predicted 1.5 million people to leave homes as operations launched in October to retake Mosul, Islamic State’s strongest bastion in Iraq which fell to the extremist group in 2014. It also predicted 400.000 people to flee the western region out of 750.000 estimated to live there.

Food and medicine shortages were routinely reported at refugee camps and also among people still stranded in the middle of fighting hot spots. IS fighters have also executed many civilians over charges of attempting to escape areas under their control.

Iraqi forces, which cleared eastern Mosul in January. are currently struggling to recapture central Mosul regions, but militants’ deployment in the middle of civilian communities has slowed down operations progress at some stages and occasionally led to civilian casualties both from security and militants’ fires.

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