Friday evening, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi spoke on national TV from the joint command center, congratulating the troops on their victories.
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Aid workers are struggling to provide water, food and shelter as the exodus overwhelms camps run by the Iraqi government and humanitarian groups.
However, CNN reported on Saturday that “the city appeared far from liberated, despite claims to the contrary by the Iraqi government”.
However, local media reports on Monday indicated that fighting continued for areas of the city still under the control of the Islamic State, outlawed in many countries worldwide, including Russian Federation and the United States.
In one newly opened camp in Amariyat Al Fallujah, hosting around 1,800 people, there was only one latrine, for women.
Iraqi security forces enter central Fallujah after fight against Islamic State fighters, Friday, June 17, 2016.
“The estimated total number of displaced from Fallujah in just the last three days is now at a staggering 30,000 people”, the NRC said in a statement.
Brig. Gen. Yahya Rasool, spokesman for the joint operations command in Baghdad, said hours earlier that they hoped “to cleanse the whole of Fallujah” in the next few days.
“Iraqi forces are still advancing despite the strong clashes”, he added.
Yet Iraqi forces have some work left to do, with hundreds of Islamic State fighters still holed up in the city’s northern neighborhoods.
Thousands are now fleeting Fallujah after Iraqi forces claimed that city back and those there to help them say the government needs to do more to address the humanitarian crisis.
The conflict in Iraq has forced more than 3.3 million people to flee their homes. He didn’t say how many IS militants remain in Fallujah.
On May 23, the Iraqi soldiers launched a massive military operation to recpature Fallujah, situated roughly 69 kilometers west of the capital Baghdad.
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“The simultaneous attacks are continuing from four directions to tighten the noose around [ISIS] fighters entrenched in houses among civilians and prevent them from catching their breath”, said Col. Ahmed al-Saidi from the federal police.
