Iraq: Humanitarian Bulletin, February 2017 | Issued on 23 March [EN/AR/KU]

Highlights

• 172,000 flee Mosul for displacement sites as fighting reaches the Old City.

• Returning communities face risks from explosive hazards and social tensions.

• Transitional assistance needed in areas of Iraq outside of emergencies.

• Damage to homes and lack of livelihood opportunities the biggest barrier to returning communities.

Sharp uptick in displacement as hostilities resume in western Mosul

As military operations to retake the western part of Mosul city from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) push forward into more heavily populated areas in the Old City, the rate of displacement has escalated sharply. Some 172,000 people have fled western neighbourhoods for camps and emergency sites since operations recommenced on 19 February. Almost 274,000 people are currently displaced by the fighting in east and west Mosul. Since military operations began on 17 October, over 350,000 people have been displaced, of whom [76,000] have returned home to eastern Mosul and surrounding areas, where conditions have allowed.

Government figures indicate that many more could be in out-of-camp settings; data verification is ongoing to ensure all locations of displaced families are known, so assistance can be provided.
As the fighting reached the southernmost neighbourhoods of western Mosul on the evening of 25 February the rate of displacement increased sharply: on average, 6,000 people from western neighbourhoods are arriving at displacement sites every day.