U. S.-backed Iraqi forces on Sunday launched a ground offensive to dislodge Islamic State militants from their remaining stronghold in Mosul, in the western part of the city, and put an end to their ambitions for territorial rule in Iraq. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced the start of the offensive in the northern Iraqi city, … Read more
The United Nations said Sunday as Iraqi forces launched their offensive to retake west Mosul that it was rushing to build more shelters ahead of an expected wave of displacement. “We are racing against the clock to prepare emergency sites south of Mosul to receive displaced families,” the UN’s humanitarian coordinator in Iraq, Lise Grande, … Read more
As the noose tightens around holdout jihadists in west Mosul, so does the belt around the waists of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians trapped there with dwindling supplies. “We’re trying to build up some reserves but we have very little food left at home,” said Umm Sameer, a mother from the Ras al-Jadda neighbourhood … Read more
Living conditions in west Mosul, where jihadists are hunkering down among 750,000 Iraqi civilians, are deteriorating fast and a source of great concern, the UN’s top aid official said Wednesday. “We are extremely concerned about the rapid deterioration of the conditions in west Mosul,” United Nations humanitarian coordinator in Iraq Lise Grande told reporters. “Families … Read more
Kurdish forces are rolling in from the east The EU should be prepared for returning jihadists if the so-called Islamic State (IS) is driven out of its Iraqi stronghold, Mosul, an official warns. Security Commissioner Julian King said even a small number of militants would pose “a serious threat that we must prepare ourselves for”. … Read more