Civilians caught trying to escape are killed by Isil, which has had a stranglehold on the city for more than two years.
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ISIS has crumbled in Iraq, losing at least half the territory it seized in 2014, and it also looks set to lose ground Syria with continued airstrikes from Western forces.
As fighting intensifies in different areas, including near Iraq’s second city of Mosul, the ICRC is calling for additional funds from donors to replenish aid supplies. Daesh, which is a militant jihadist group outlawed in many countries, including Russian Federation, overran large parts of Syria and Iraq in 2014 amid the ongoing civil war in Syria.
It may be mentioned here that following the liberation of Fallujah and Qayyarah air base, the Iraqi army association with the US-led coalition is tightening noose around Mosul- considered as the last ISIS bastion.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi held talks in Baghdad on Sunday with the U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph F. Dunford on an anticipated offensive to retake Mosul from Daesh group.
Obeidi said the biggest challenge will be protecting civilians, who he said number around 2 million.
He added: “We expect when operations begin in the city proper there will be large displacement. We need to be ready”, Mardini said in the statement.
The International Committee for the Red Cross says up to one million people could be driven from their homes in Mosul, and the United Nations estimates the number could be even higher.
Iraqi soldiers fire a rocket toward Islamic State militants on the outskirts of the Makhmour south of Mosul, Iraq, March 25, 2016.
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More than ten million people are already in need of assistance in the country.
