Hundreds of Iraqi refugees arrive at Qayyara school after fleeing their villages

Record ID: 84162

  • Title: Hundreds of Iraqi refugees arrive at Qayyara school after fleeing their villages
  • Date: 21st October 2016
  • Summary: QAYYARA, IRAQ (OCTOBER 21, 2016) (REUTERS) REFUGEES GATHERED OUTSIDE A SCHOOL IN QAYYARA VARIOUS OF REFUGEES GATHERING VARIOUS OF A WOMAN AND CHILD SEATED OUTSIDE SCHOOL VARIOUS OF REFUGEES AT SCHOOL WOMAN AND CHILDREN GIVING VICTORY SIGN WOMEN SPEAKING (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) UNIDENTIFIED DISPLACED WOMAN, SAYING: "Our situation is very difficult, they (Islamic State) slaughtered the men, blew up homes, they beheaded people, cut off people's livelihood. Daesh (a commonly used Arabic acronym for Islamic State) killed my three brothers, but thank God we have been avenged. We will follow them wherever they go." VARIOUS OF IRAQI ARMY AND POLICE FORCES WITH REFUGEES REFUGEES WALKING IN SCHOOL (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) MEMBER OF QAYYARA CITY COUNCIL, SAMEER MOHAMMED, SAYING: "The city of Qayyara currently houses around 850 families, some villages host the same number, or double. We call upon the centralised government to continue constructing the Jadaa refugee camp." VARIOUS OF A WOMAN TENDING TO HER CHILDREN REFUGEES GATHERING IN SCHOOL GROUNDS MEN GATHERING OUTSIDE SCHOOL VARIOUS OF REFUGEES SITTING ON GROUND (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) DISPLACED MAN, ABU AHMAD, SAYING: "We escaped today, we have no water, our sheep are exhausted, our families are exhausted. Where can we go? We have nowhere to go. We cannot fight, we have no strength to face them, they (Islamic State militants) think it is okay to slaughter us. I was tending to my sheep and they followed me, they wanted to kill me. I told them my sheep were hungry. They want to kick us out of our homes." HEAVY SMOKE RISING NEAR SCHOOL PEOPLE STANDING AT SCHOOL FENCE PEOPLE LAYING DOWN SAND BAGS
  • Embargoed: 5th November 2016 17:40
  • Keywords: Qayyara Iraq refugees Mosul school attack assault
  • Location: QAYYARA, IRAQ
  • City: QAYYARA, IRAQ
  • Country: Iraq
  • Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace
  • Reuters ID: LVA00154Y95XJ
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Hundreds of families arrived at a school in Qayyara on Friday (October 21), a town under government control 60 km (40 miles) from Mosul, after fleeing their villages.
    The refugees were vetted by Iraqi security officials in case some were Islamic State fighters posing as non-combatants. Those who are cleared will be taken to a camp for displaced persons about 20 minutes away by car.
    A member of the Qayyara city council, Sameer Mohammed, said about 850 families are being cared for in Qayyara, with some villages nearby hosting double that number.
    About 1.5 million residents are still believed to be inside Mosul, which is under assault by Iraqi forces, Kurdish Peshmerga soldiers and a U.S.-led coalition in an attempt to oust Islamic State militants from the city.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2016. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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