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War rages in Mosul, Iraq; thousands displaced everyday

Four chickens and four ducks were the most treasured possessions of one family fleeing home in Mosul, Iraq. The UN estimates the total flight is at an average of 4,000 people a day. Photo: IRIN/Tom Westcott

MOSUL, IRAQ – Even though President Bush declared victory in Iraq way back in 2003, a vicious war rages there to this day, with hundreds dead in the city of Mosul after bombings and civilians being held in booby-trapped homes by ISIS terrorists being driven out by coalition forces.

The US military’s Combined Joint Task Force (CJTF) said this weekend that an initial review of strike data from March 16-23 indicates that, at the request of the Iraqi Security Forces, the Coalition struck ISIS fighters and equipment, March 17, in West Mosul at the location corresponding to allegations of civilian casualties.  It has been reported as many as 200 civilians were killed in strikes that day.

CJTF said  it “takes all allegations of civilian casualties seriously and a formal Civilian Casualty Credibility Assessment has been opened to determine the facts surrounding this strike and the validity of the allegation of civilian casualties.

“The Coalition respects human life, which is why we are assisting our Iraqi partner forces in their effort to liberate their lands from ISIS brutality. Our goal has always been for zero civilian casualties, but the Coalition will not abandon our commitment to our Iraqi partners because of ISIS’s inhuman tactics terrorizing civilians, using human shields, and fighting from protected sites such as schools, hospitals, religious sites and civilian neighborhoods.”

On Sunday, March 26, an official press release from the Iraqi War Media Cell on the alleged civilian casualty incident March 17, 2017 was released:

Urgent

War Media Cell

Important clarification

Investigation regard killing civilians in Mosul

March 26, 2017: It has been repeated with every victory achieved by Iraq the attempts and allegations to deceive the public opinion by amplifying narratives full of exaggerations and major errors. The media reported an air strike that killed hundreds of citizens and in order to inform the public of the full facts, we clarify the following:

First. On March 17, 2017, CTS units began breaking through Al-Risalah neighborhood. ISIS detonated a number of large VBIEDs with suicide bombers to disrupt the advance of our units. After the destruction of the enemy, our forces were able to clear the entire Al-Risalah neighborhood at the exact time of 1800 the same day.

Second. At 0825 an air strike was launched from CF on ISIS and their equipment in response to the request of Iraqi forces.

Third. Through the accurate information of citizens who said that ISIS is holding the families in booby-trapped houses and forced them to stan then use these houses for snipers and suicide bombers and explode them while ISF advancing, a team was sent to examine this house and found it booby-trapped and 25 women and children detained there were all been rescued in a safe place now.

Fourth. A team of military experts was formed from field commanders to inspect the house where the media reported, the house was completely destroyed 100% and all its walls are booby-trapped and there is no hole or indication that was subjected to an air strike. And found a large VBIED and detonator, they conducted evacuation of 61 bodies and during the talk with eyewitnesses from the area, said that the house was bombed and forced families to go down to the basements and used these houses for suicide bombers to fire at our security forces.

Fifth. To this day, ISIS continues to use booby-trapped tanks in this sector. On Saturday evening, March 25, at 1915, a large tank was blown up on our units in the same sector.

We ask all media and political figures to be careful and take information from their official sources to find out the facts.

Our forces are still engaged in fierce battles and sacrifices to liberate our people of Ninawa. Investigations are ongoing.

CJTF-OIR takes all allegations of civilian casualties seriously and a formal Civilian Casualty Credibility Assessment has been opened to determine the facts surrounding this strike and the validity of the allegation of civilian casualties.

U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) | U.S. Central Command

—-

A nine year-old girl clutches her worn-out doll, one of the few belongings she managed to take with her when she fled with her family from Tal al-Ruman area of west Mosul, Iraq. Photo: UNHCR/Saif Al-Tatooz

A few days later, the United Natiosn reported that humanitarian agencies are bracing for the possibility that in coming weeks about 300,000 to 320,000 civilians may flee the western districts of Iraqi’s Mosul city where Government forces are fighting to oust the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da’esh) terrorists, a senior United Nations aid official in the country has said.

“The humanitarian operation in western Mosul is far larger and far more complex than in the east” said the Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq, Lise Grande, in a news release issued by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

The main difference, she explained, is that tens of thousands of families stayed in their homes in the east, but in the west, tens of thousands are fleeing.

“We’ve been planning and preparing for the Mosul operation for months. But the truth is that the crisis is pushing all of us to our limits. We’re going to be doing the best we can to ensure the people who need assistance receive it.” said Ms. Grande.

Humanitarian agencies are deeply worried that civilians are at grave risk in western Mosul. The use of explosives in the densely populated Old City is likely to cause extensive damage, and people fleeing are telling humanitarian workers that it’s very difficult to enter or leave the Old City, said Ms. Grande.

“Families are at risk of being shot if they leave and they are at risk if they stay. It’s horrible. Hundreds of thousands of civilians are trapped and they are in terrible danger,” she said.

In Mosul, Iraq, aging family members are pushed for hours through frontline fighting between the army and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da’esh), to reach safety. Photo: IRIN/Tom Westcott

The main supply route into western Mosul has been cut since mid-November. Families fleeing the city are reporting that shelves are empty and that the only food available is what they already have at home. Water and electricity supplies have been cut and medicines are running out.

Under the leadership of the Government of Iraq, a massive national effort is underway to address the crisis. Civilians fleeing the western districts in the city are being accommodated in 17 camps and emergency sites near the city. The Government and partners are rushing to construct and expand 10 of these.

“Every day, more space is becoming available,” said Ms. Grande. “It’s a race against time. So far, families are receiving support and being sheltered. But if the number of people leaving the city increases faster than we can construct new plots, the situation could deteriorate very quickly.”

Since 17 October, over 330,000 people have been displaced by the Mosul crisis, over 70,000 of whom have returned to their homes. Humanitarian agencies have been working around the clock to provide life-saving support to more than 1.3 million people from eastern and western Mosul including families who have stayed in their homes, and those who have fled.

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