|
GENEVA, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- More than 82,000 civilians have fled the northern Iraqi city of Mosul and its adjacent districts since military operations to recapture one of the Islamic State (IS)'s last strongholds began on Oct.17, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported Tuesday.
"Thousands of Iraqis continue to be displaced by military operations in Mosul every week," said IOM Iraq Chief of Mission Thomas Lothar Weiss in a statement.
"They have had to flee their homes despite great risk, many by foot, and are in need of comprehensive humanitarian assistance," he added.
Accounting for 13,678 families, IOM said that most of those who fled their homes originated from the districts of Mosul (88 percent), Tilkaif (5 percent) and Al-Hamdaniya (over 3 percent).
IOM revealed that 81 percent of those recently displaced by military operations are living in formal camps.
A further 14 percent have taken shelter in private settings, while four percent are in critical shelter arrangements and one percent are passing through screening sites.
With winter already in full swing, IOM said that it has distributed emergency items including winter kits to almost 100,000 displaced people, host communities and returnees since last month.
Supported by Kurdish Peshmerga fighters, Iraqi troops kicked off operations in October to take back the city which fell into IS hands in June 2014 after government forces abandoned their weapons and fled, enabling IS militants to take control of parts of Iraq's northern and western regions.
International aircraft as well as Iraqi and U.S.-led coalition artillery units are supporting ground operations there.
According to reports, more than 5,000 IS militants were initially holed up in Mosul, though they are losing ground amid ongoing military operations.
