Humanitarian aid struggles to help people after Mosul operation

World Today

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As the Mosul offensive enters its second week and coalition forces approach the ISIL controlled city, aid agencies scramble to prepare for the expected mass exodus of residents. Camps are being built across Northern Iraq as international humanitarian help trickles in.

CCTV’s Natalie Carney reports the story.

Follow Natalie Carney on Twitter @NatalieCarney77

While one million people are still in Mosul, only about 5,000 have been able to escape the grip of ISIL on the outskirts of the city since the operation began last week.

So aid agencies are bracing for a possible massive displacement in the days to come.

“When the operation into the city center starts, I think there will be more movement of people. Even the experts have difficult estimating what will happen. Because we don’t know the size of the possible movement when and how it will happen so it will change the needs and of course the reaction,” Mehmet Akrif Inam, Turkish Counselor General to Erbil, said.

Aid agencies have spent millions of dollars preparing for the expected exodus, but the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said it has received only 48 percent of the nearly $200 million needed for its Mosul emergency work.

Camps are being built, but many more are needed to accommodate the numbers expected.


CCTV’s Natalie Carney takes you on a walk through a refugee camp outside Erbil. Over 32,000 people are currently living in the camp.