- Title: Mosul could be one of largest man-made disasters - UNHCR
- Date: 29th September 2016
- Summary: GENEVA, SWITZERLAND (SEPTEMBER 29, 2016) (REUTERS) VARIOUS EXTERIORS OF UNITES NATIONS BUILDING NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS (SOUNDBITE) (English) UNHCR REPRESENTATIVE IN IRAQ, BRUNO GEDDO, SAYING: "Mosul has the potential to be one of the largest man-made disasters for many many years. It's 1.2 to 1.5 (million) estimated population, the last census was in 1997 so nobody really know. More than a million could be displaced as a result of the forthcoming offensive and we are planning for at least 700,000 who will be in need of assistance, shelter, food, water, you know, everything that you need in a situation of humanitarian disaster. So, the stakes could not be higher." NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS JOURNALIST AT WORK (SOUNDBITE) (English) UNHCR REPRESENTATIVE IN IRAQ, BRUNO GEDDO, SAYING: "Another lesson learnt in Falluja is that indeed, ISIS (Islamic State) will not hesitate to use civilians as human shields, so the point I'm trying to make is that, we will have to do our best, the security forces and humanitarians, to minimise the loss of civilian life. Because there is a price to be paid to retrieve land from ISIS but that price cannot be totally disproportionate." NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS (SOUNDBITE) (English) UNHCR REPRESENTATIVE IN IRAQ, BRUNO GEDDO, SAYING: "No, we are not reducing our estimates because we cannot, we have to be, the humanitarians always have to be prepared for the worst and because no one knows what the posture that ISIS will take is going to be, no one knows how many people will come out." NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS (SOUNDBITE) (English) UNHCR REPRESENTATIVE IN IRAQ, BRUNO GEDDO, SAYING: "Those who will be taken to unfinished and abandoned buildings, which will become also emergency camps, we'll use the voute to seal off rooms premises within that building to protect themselves and secure the privacy of the family. So again, trying to improve the living conditions in this particular abandoned and unfinished buildings, which is a common practice for displaced people out of camp in Iraq until now." JOURNALISTS LISTENING NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS END OF NEWS CONFERENCE VARIOUS EXTERIORS OF UNITED NATIONS BUILDING
- Embargoed: 14th October 2016 16:21
- Keywords: Islamic State United Nations troops Iraq Mosul UNHCR
- Location: GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
- City: GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
- Country: Iraq
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Military Conflicts
- Reuters ID: LVA00151MEKAV
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: More than a million people could flee the Islamic State stronghold of Mosul when the Iraqi army launches an assault on the city, the United Nations said on Thursday (September 29), warning it lacked facilities to house about 400,000 of them.
Bruno Geddo, chief of the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR in Iraq, said the battle for Mosul, seized by Islamic State as it swept across Iraq two years ago, was expected to begin as soon as October, and most probably by the end of 2016.
The U.N. expects to have to help at least 700,000 with shelter, food and water, and UNHCR is building or planning 11 camps with lighting, piped water and 20,000 family plots - spaces for a six-person tent demarcated by bricks to keep scorpions and snakes out.
Things could be even worse if Islamic State fighters decide to make a "last stand" and there is massive destruction in the city, or to use civilians as human shields as they did in the battle for Falluja in June, he said.
Geddo said that emergency camps for the displaced would include 18,000 tents in open areas, and those not lucky enough to get a tent might get one of 50,000 emergency shelter kits.
A further 30,000 will get "sealing off kits" - emergency kits with a plank of plywood that can be used to create some privacy in a communal shelter. The U.N. is also procuring 100,000 kits with core relief items, including blankets, jerry cans, buckets and kitchen utensils.
The Iraqi government plans camps to accommodate up to 150,000 more. But that leaves about 400,000 places lacking, and the U.N., lacking time and available land, is "frantically" preparing to set up emergency camps close to the battle.
The U.N. said in July it would need $284 million (218.5 million pounds) to prepare for the battle and up to $1.8 billion to deal with the aftermath.
UNHCR's needs are still only 33 percent funded.
Geddo said it was not his remit to deal with any captured Islamic State fighters, but he said the U.N. had received assurances that they would be treated as prisoners of war. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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