Displaced speak of life under IS as Iraqi forces prepare to retake Tal Afar

Record ID: 906897

  • Title: Displaced speak of life under IS as Iraqi forces prepare to retake Tal Afar
  • Date: 18th August 2017
  • Summary: EAST MOSUL, IRAQ (RECENT - AUGUST 6, 2017) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF PEOPLE WALKING PAST TENTS IN SALAMIYAH CAMP TENTS IN SALAMIYAH CAMP GROUP OF MEN SITTING OUTSIDE TENT PEOPLE WALKING TO TENT TO COLLECT FRESH VEGETABLES VARIOUS OF PEOPLE CHOOSING AND WEIGHING VEGETABLES VARIOUS OF CHILDREN SITTING INSIDE TENT DISPLACED MAN FROM TAL AFAR, SULTAN ABDALLAH, WALKING (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) DISPLACED MAN FROM TAL AFAR, SULTAN ABDALLAH, SAYING: "Over there is a siege. Islamic State are besieging us. We fled and walked for about a kilometre and a half. Many families fled but whoever was caught was executed on the spot. The elders and the young were taken. Anything that we owned was taken. If you have money or gold it was taken. We fled with the injured and there were IED's (improvised explosive devices) on the road. If you were lucky you would not step on any of the explosives but then Islamic State had their checkpoints. They besieged us for three months. No food and only bread and water. This is what was in Tal Afar." VARIOUS OF ANOTHER DISPLACED MAN FROM TAL AFAR, KHALAF, TALKING (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) DISPLACED MAN FROM TAL AFAR, KHALAF, SAYING: "Islamic State were praying evening prayers so this was when we fled. We arrived at the Peshmerga and almost 40 of us fled. If they had caught us they would have given us a bullet to the head. Thank God we fled. The situation over there is dire. They have no food, water or drink over there. They are waiting for the security forces to arrive today before tomorrow." PEOPLE WALKING PAST TENTS IN SALAMIYAH CAMP CHILDREN PLAYING IN CAMP CHILDREN STANDING AROUND WATER DISPENSER VARIOUS OF CHILDREN FILLING BUCKETS WITH WATER AND WASHING THEIR FACES FAMILY FROM TAL AFAR GATHERED (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) DISPLACED WOMAN FROM TAL AFAR, OM HASSAN, SAYING: "We left because we were afraid for the children from the air strikes and the hunger. We have no money and we have no vehicles. [Inaudible]." VARIOUS OF PEOPLE STANDING IN LINE OUTSIDE AID OFFICE (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) DEPUTY PROGRAM MANAGER AT ACTED, ALY SALEH, SAYING: "The families were separated from one another and we have families with children. We have increasing psychological problems because of the pressures faced in the camps. The education needs more effort and we have many sick people. The number of families in this camp [from Tal Afar] is much larger than families from other places. " PEOPLE WALKING IN SALAMIYAH CAMP
  • Embargoed: 1st September 2017 16:02
  • Keywords: escape from Islamic State Mosul civilians fleeing escape from Mosul fleeing from mosul Tal Afar Iraq Islamic State residents fleeing
  • Location: EAST MOSUL, IRAQ
  • City: EAST MOSUL, IRAQ
  • Country: Iraq
  • Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace
  • Reuters ID: LVA0016UOP4QV
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Five weeks after securing victory in Mosul, Iraqi forces have moved into positions around the city of Tal Afar, their next objective in the U.S.-backed campaign to defeat Islamic State militants, Iraqi military commanders say.
    A longtime stronghold of hardline Sunni insurgents, Tal Afar, 50 miles (80 km) west of Mosul, was cut off from the rest of the Islamic State-held territory in June.
    The city is surrounded by Iraqi government troops and Shi'ite volunteers in the south, and Kurdish Peshmerga fighters in the north.
    Waves of civilians have fled the city and surrounding villages under cover of darkness for weeks now, although several thousand are estimated to remain, threatened with death by the militants who have held a tight grip there since 2014.
    Residents who have been displaced to Salamiyah Camp spoke of fleeing in the middle of the night to avoid the militants, who shot anyone caught trying to escape.
    The United Nation's International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates that about 10,000 to 40,000 people are left in Tal Afar and surrounding villages. Iraqi commanders say the number of people left inside the city itself, including militants and their families, is closer to 5,000.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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