- Title: Hundreds of Iraqis evacuate from recaptured village
- Date: 25th October 2016
- Summary: KHAZER, WEST OF ERBIL, IRAQ (OCTOBER 25, 2016) (REUTERS) QUEUE OF CARS FLEEING TOPZAWA/MEN SITTING ON GROUND CAR WITH WHITE FLAG/MAN TRIMMING ANOTHER MAN'S BEARD CLOSE OF WHITE FLAG QUEUE OF CARS/PEOPLE WALKING VARIOUS OF DISPLACED WOMEN AND CHILDREN WALKING MOTHER WALKING WITH SLEEPING BABY WOMEN AND CHILDREN WAITING TO BOARD BUS TO REFUGEE CAMP OFFICERS/WOMEN AND CHILDREN WAITING TO BOARD BUS TO REFUGEE CAMP BABY OFFICERS IN FRONT OF BUS/WOMEN AND CHILDREN BOARDING WOMEN AND CHILDREN WAITING TO BOARD CLOSE OF INFANT CHILD CRYING/WOMEN AND CHILDREN CHILD HOLDING BOTTLES OF WATER (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) REFUGEE MOVEMENT COORDINATOR, MOHAMMED SULTAN, SAYING: "Today we have transported the families that lived in the village of Topzawa, near Bashiqa, after it was liberated by the security forces, the Counter Terrorism Services and the Peshmerga." PEOPLE STANDING NEAR CAR WOMEN SITTING ON GROUND MAN TRIMMING ANOTHER MAN'S BEARD (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) DISPLACED MAN FROM TOPZAWA, QAHTAN MIZEL, SAYING: "Daesh controlled us for 2 years and four months. These people did not know God's law, nor His people. They know nothing, they are tyrannical. We did not have a single day of rest in 2 years and four months. Not even an hour." MEN SITTING ON THE GROUND PICK-UP TRUCK WITH PEOPLE AND WHEELCHAIR IN BACK CLOSE OF PICK-UP TRUCK WITH PEOPLE AND WHEELCHAIR IN BACK (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) DISPLACED MAN FROM TOPZAWA, TAQIADEIN HAWAS, SAYING: "There were almost a hundred homes, not a single one remained intact. They were all destroyed. Some were hit by mortars, others by rockets, we could not open our doors." VARIOUS OF A WHEELCHAIR IN CAR'S TRUNK TRUCKS DRIVING AWAY TRUCK WITH A WHITE FLAG
- Embargoed: 9th November 2016 17:15
- Keywords: Iraq refugees Topzawa Erbil Khazer Middle East crisis Mosul
- Location: KHAZER, WEST OF ERBIL, IRAQ
- City: KHAZER, WEST OF ERBIL, IRAQ
- Country: Iraq
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace
- Reuters ID: LVA00155I8Q4N
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Hundreds of Iraqis fled their homes in the recently captured village of Topzawa, near Mosul, fearing Islamic State retaliation and continued clashes.
Men, women and children queued up to board the buses taking them to refugee camps on Tuesday (October 25).
The displaced people were met by Iraqi armed forces to transport them to a newly established camp in Khazer, west of the Kurdish regional capital Erbil.
"There were almost a hundred homes, not a single one remained intact. They were all destroyed," said Taqiadein Hawas, a Topzawa resident.
About 90 Islamic State-held villages and towns around Mosul have been retaken so far into the offensive, according to statements from the army. The distance from the frontline to the city ranges from just a couple of kilometres in the east, to 30 kilometres (nearly 20 miles) in the south.
The UN refugee agency chief said about 7,500 people have fled Mosul and towns and villages around it since the campaign began.
Some 1.5 million residents remain in the city and worst-case forecasts see up to a million being uprooted, according to the United Nations. U.N. aid agencies said the fighting has so far forced about 7,400 to flee their homes.
The Mosul campaign, which aims to crush the Iraqi half of Islamic State's declared caliphate in Iraq and Syria, may become the biggest battle yet in the 13 years of turmoil unleashed by the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.
The Iraqi force attacking Mosul is 30,000-strong, joined by U.S. special forces and under American, French and British air cover. The number of insurgents dug in the city is estimated at 5,000 to 6,000 by the Iraqi military. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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