Residents of Karama district in Mosul relieved ISIL pushed out

World Today

As Iraqi security forces continue to battle ISIL in the city of Mosul, many residents in areas already re-captured said they’ll stay put rather than heading to emergency camps outside of the city.

CCTV’s Jack Barton reports.

Residents in Mosul’s eastern Karama district appear happy that ISIL is gone, but also relieved the Iraqi security forces are not carrying out widespread reprisals here. That had been a genuine fear based on past experience.

Food and water were not the biggest problems under ISIL, but death of families. One mother lost a son. Some children, a father. They said all because he had a Shiite Muslim name.

It’s clear now that Iraqi security forces have not just entered Mosul-they have re-captured and secured some of the neighborhoods, and you can tell that the mood among-st the locals is fairly relaxed.

Locals say that ISIL punished even small offenses like smoking or not attending prayers by floggings, jail or fines.

While there is little damage from the fighting in Mosul so far, ISIL’s main defensive positions were in villages outside the city limits. Here, the destruction is total.

People that lived in these areas have either made their way to camps or are still on route.

Whether the U.N.’s fear of a million refugees becomes a reality will depend on how quickly ISIL can be defeated in their last stronghold in Iraq, and how much of the city is left standing when that mission is complete.