- Title: Civilians continue to pour out of Mosul as army advances
- Date: 7th January 2017
- Summary: BARTELLA, IRAQ (JANUARY 7, 2017) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF RECENTLY DISPLACED IRAQIS WALKING TOWARDS AN ARMY CHECKPOINT VARIOUS OF PEOPLE AT CHECKPOINT WOMEN AND CHILDREN SEEN BEHIND A WIRE FENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) MAN WHO RECENTLY FLED FROM THE WAHDA NEIGHBOURHOOD OF MOSUL, AHMAD HUSSEIN, SAYING: "People were starving, there was destruction; people suffered a lot. There are families in Mosul who could not add sugar to their tea, they would drink bitter tea. People have nothing left, it is a tragic situation; all the people here experienced it." VARIOUS OF PEOPLE CARRYING THEIR BELONGINGS AND WALKING IN LINE VARIOUS OF AID WORKERS WITH THE HUMANITARIAN RELIEF ORGANISATION PREPARING HOT MEALS MAN STIRRING BEAN STEW AID WORKER DISTRIBUTING RICE (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) WOMAN WHO FLED FROM MOSUL, CHOSE TO REMAIN UNNAMED, SAYING: "We suffered a lot, it was difficult to find food; our financial situation was dire. There was no security." VARIOUS OF AID WORKERS DISTRIBUTING RICE COORDINATOR OF THE HUMANITARIAN RELIEF ORGANISATION, HUSSEIN ALLAWI, TALKING WITH DISPLACED IRAQIS (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) COORDINATOR OF THE HUMANITARIAN RELIEF ORGANISATION, HUSSEIN ALLAWI, SAYING: "When people began fleeing to the Khazer, Hassan Sham and Jadaa camps, we made sure to set up this aid point to provide fresh food to the displaced families. We serve around 2,000-3,000 people a day." PEOPLE WAITING IN LINE FOR MEALS / PEOPLE LEAVING WITH MEALS VARIOUS OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN EATING ON THE GROUND MAN FEEDING HIS CHILD VARIOUS OF PEOPLE BOARDING BUSES THAT WILL TRANSPORT THEM TO REFUGEE CAMPS PEOPLE SEEN IN THE BUS
- Embargoed: 22nd January 2017 12:38
- Keywords: Mosul displaced Iraqi civilians Bartella Islamic State military operation
- Location: BARTELLA, IRAQ
- City: BARTELLA, IRAQ
- Country: Iraq
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Military Conflicts
- Reuters ID: LVA0015Y2YLON
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Thousands of residents continue to flee Mosul's eastern neighbourhoods on Saturday (January 7), as Iraqi forces carried on with the second phase of the offensive against Islamic State militants.
The men, women and children have been fleeing the neighbourhoods of Somar, Wahda and Mithaq since Friday (January 6), and gathering at an army checkpoint in Bartella, a town about 21 kilometres (13 miles) east of Mosul. From there, they were set to board buses to go to the nearby camps.
Ahmad Hussein, who fled from the Wahda neighbourhood, said the situation there was unbearable. He left as soon as the army took over.
"People were starving, there was destruction; people suffered a lot. There are families in Mosul who could not add sugar to their tea, they would drink bitter tea. People have nothing left, it is a tragic situation," Hussein described.
As the families waited for security checks by the army, aid workers distributed hot meals.
"We made sure to set up this aid point to provide fresh food to the displaced families. We serve around 2,000-3,000 people a day," said Hussein Allawi, coordinator of the Humanitarian Relief organisation.
Security forces have retaken about a quarter of Mosul since October but, against expectations and despite severe shortages of food and water, most residents have stayed put until now.
More than 125,000 people have been displaced out of a population of roughly 1.5 million, but the numbers have increased by nearly 50 percent to 2,300 daily, the U.N. refugee agency said.
The humanitarian situation was "dire", with food stockpiles dwindling and the price of staples spiralling, boreholes drying up or turning brackish from over-use and camps and emergency sites to the south and east reaching maximum capacity, it also said.
Mosul is the militants' last stronghold in Iraq and an Iraqi victory there would probably spell the end for Islamic State's self-styled caliphate. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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