Families fleeing Mosul recall recent terror and find solace in the past

Record ID: 79916

  • Title: Families fleeing Mosul recall recent terror and find solace in the past
  • Date: 8th November 2016
  • Summary: KHAZER, EAST OF MOSUL, IRAQ (NOVEMBER 8, 2016) (REUTERS) TENTS AT THE KHAZER REFUGEE CAMP VARIOUS OF DISPLACED PEOPLE AND TENTS IN CAMP MORE OF TENTS AT CAMP VARIOUS OF DISPLACED PEOPLE WALKING IN CAMP VARIOUS OF WOMEN LOOKING AT PHOTOS/SITTING ON GROUND CLOSE OF PICTURES HELD BY A WOMAN IN CAMP VARIOUS OF WOMEN LOOKING AT PICTURES MORE OF THE WOMEN LOOKING AT PICTURES (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) DISPLACED WOMAN FROM BAZWAIA, UM RAED, SAYING: "These (pictures) mean so much to me. They remind me of my friends, my uncles, my cousins, my kids. I could not leave them behind. Should I have left them for Daesh (Islamic State)?" WOMEN SITTING ON GROUND AND LOOKING AT PICTURES / CHILDREN VARIOUS OF DISPLACED MEN AND CHILDREN STANDING BETWEEN CLOTHES LINES VARIOUS OF CLOTHES HUNG TO DRY/PEOPLE VARIOUS OF A DISPLACED WOMAN, UM JABBAR, WASHING CLOTHES / CHILDREN NEARBY (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) DISPLACED WOMAN FROM KOKJALI, UM JABBAR, SAYING: "We fled from Kokjali. A rocket hit our house, all my children here panicked, we were sitting in the room, 21 of us, when suddenly we were surrounded by fire and smoke. The house collapsed over our heads." MORE OF UM JABBAR WASHING CLOTHES/CHILDREN NEARBY CHILDREN GATHERED IN CAMP VARIOUS OF CHILDREN PLAYING IN CAMP
  • Embargoed: 23rd November 2016 12:11
  • Keywords: Iraq refugees Mosul Khazer camp children life
  • Location: KHAZER, EAST OF MOSUL, IRAQ
  • City: KHAZER, EAST OF MOSUL, IRAQ
  • Country: Iraq
  • Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace
  • Reuters ID: LVA00157L4O5J
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Iraqis in Khazer refugee camp who had fled the Islamic State stronghold of Mosul and nearby villages recalled the recently experienced horrors and tried to find solace in the past.
    Um Jabbar, a woman who had escaped from the recently recaptured village of Kokjali, west of Mosul, said on Tuesday (November 8) her family barely survived a rocket attack.
    "We fled from Kokjali. A rocket hit our house, all my children here panicked, we were sitting in the room, 21 of us, when suddenly we were surrounded by fire and smoke. The house collapsed over our heads," she said.
    Um Raed, another woman who had fled the village of Bazwaia near Mosul to find shelter in the Khazer camp showed her most treasured possessions to fellow refugees.
    "These (pictures) mean so much to me. They remind me of my friends, my uncles, my cousins, my kids. I could not leave them behind. Should I have left them for Daesh (Islamic State)?" she said.
    The operation against Islamic State's Iraqi stronghold of Mosul has entered its fourth week and Iraqi forces have so far gained just a small foothold in the city.
    The United Nations has warned of a possible exodus of hundreds of thousands of refugees from the city which is still home to up to 1.5 million people. So far 34,000 have been displaced, the International Organization for Migration said.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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