350,000 children trapped in west Mosul: Save the Children
Calls for establishing safe escape routes for civilians as soon as possible
Syrian Kurdish refugee children wait inside a temporary medical facility after crossing into Turkey near the southeastern Turkish town of Suruc in Sanliurfa province. PHOTO: REUTERS
LONDON:
Around 350,000 children are trapped in western Mosul, Save the Children warned on Sunday as Iraqi forces launched a fresh offensive on militants defending the strategic city.
“Iraqi forces and their allies, including the US and UK, must do everything in their power to protect children and their families from harm, and avoid civilian buildings like schools and hospitals as they push deeper into the city,” said the London-based charity’s Iraq country director, Maurizio Crivallero.
He warned that escape is not an option for most families, who risk summary execution by fighters from the Islamic State group, sniper fire and landmines - but they are also running out of food, water and medicine.
US-led coalition says IS command centre destroyed in Mosul medical complex
“This is the grim choice for children in western Mosul right now: bombs, crossfire and hunger if they stay - or execution and snipers if they try to run,” Crivallero said in a statement.
He added: “Safe escape routes for civilians must also be established as soon as possible.”
The offensive to retake Mosul’s west bank that began on Sunday could be the most brutal fighting yet in a four-month-old operation on Iraq’s second city, where the leader of the Islamic State group declared a “caliphate” in 2014.
The Iraqi government launched an offensive to re-conquer Mosul on October 17, and declared east Mosul “fully liberated” on January 24.
IS group holding civilians in Iraq's Mosul
Federal forces now face what was always one of the toughest challenges - the narrow streets of the Old City in Mosul’s west bank, which are impassable for many military vehicles.
Save the Children warned that “the impact of artillery and other explosive weaponry in those narrow, densely-populated streets is likely to be more deadly and indiscriminate than anything we have seen in the conflict so far”.
The 350,000 figure relates to people under the age of 18, a charity spokeswoman confirmed.
Around 350,000 children are trapped in western Mosul, Save the Children warned on Sunday as Iraqi forces launched a fresh offensive on militants defending the strategic city.
“Iraqi forces and their allies, including the US and UK, must do everything in their power to protect children and their families from harm, and avoid civilian buildings like schools and hospitals as they push deeper into the city,” said the London-based charity’s Iraq country director, Maurizio Crivallero.
He warned that escape is not an option for most families, who risk summary execution by fighters from the Islamic State group, sniper fire and landmines - but they are also running out of food, water and medicine.
US-led coalition says IS command centre destroyed in Mosul medical complex
“This is the grim choice for children in western Mosul right now: bombs, crossfire and hunger if they stay - or execution and snipers if they try to run,” Crivallero said in a statement.
He added: “Safe escape routes for civilians must also be established as soon as possible.”
The offensive to retake Mosul’s west bank that began on Sunday could be the most brutal fighting yet in a four-month-old operation on Iraq’s second city, where the leader of the Islamic State group declared a “caliphate” in 2014.
The Iraqi government launched an offensive to re-conquer Mosul on October 17, and declared east Mosul “fully liberated” on January 24.
IS group holding civilians in Iraq's Mosul
Federal forces now face what was always one of the toughest challenges - the narrow streets of the Old City in Mosul’s west bank, which are impassable for many military vehicles.
Save the Children warned that “the impact of artillery and other explosive weaponry in those narrow, densely-populated streets is likely to be more deadly and indiscriminate than anything we have seen in the conflict so far”.
The 350,000 figure relates to people under the age of 18, a charity spokeswoman confirmed.