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UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- Tens of thousands of families are "at extreme risk" as operations to retake western part of Mosul, a city in north Iraq, began, Farhan Haq, the deputy UN spokesman, said here Monday, quoting humanitarian agencies.
"With military operations to retake western Mosul beginning, humanitarian organizations are warning that tens of thousands of families are at extreme risk," Haq said at a daily news briefing here. "Recent surveys confirm that food and fuel supplies are dwindling, markets and shops have closed, running water is scarce and electricity in many neighborhoods is either intermittent or cut off."
Lise Grande, the UN humanitarian coordinator for Iraq, said that "the situation is distressing," Haq said.
The United Nations estimates that between 750,000 and 800,000 civilians are living in the western section of the city. Few, if any commercial supplies have reached Mosul during the past three months after the main road to Syria was cut off. Informants report that nearly half of all food shops have closed.
"Humanitarian agencies are rushing to prepare for the humanitarian impact of the military campaign," he said, adding that emergency sites are being constructed south of the city and stocks of life-saving supplies are being pre-positioned for the 250,000 to 400,000 civilians who may flee.
On Sunday, the Iraqi security forces announced the commencement of a new phase of offensive to drive out the extremist militants of Islamic State (IS) group from its major stronghold in the western side of Mosul, the Iraqi military said.
However, the western side of Mosul appears to be a bigger challenge to the Iraqi forces with its narrow streets and heavy population of between 750,000 and 800,000 people, according to the United Nations (UN) estimates.
Mosul, 400 km north of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, has been under IS control since June 2014, when Iraqi government forces abandoned their weapons and fled, enabling IS militants to take control of parts of Iraq's northern and western regions.
