December 1, 2016 was the first time that no advances were
announced in the Mosul campaign. More news came out about the day before
however. Sumer and Wahda were attacked
by the Golden Division in east Mosul marking the 45th and 46th
neighborhoods entered by the Iraqi forces since the very end of October when
the city was first breached. Roughly half of the areas are secured, and the
other half contested.
In November, there were a reported 1,577 deaths and 2,566
wounded in Ninewa. Since the government is suppressing its casualties the real
figures are likely much higher. The head of the Irbil Health Department told Rudaw that three
hospitals had been set aside to tend to the injured. He said that they are
overflowing with one facility having no empty beds left.
The International Organization for Migration recorded
another rise in the displaced in Ninewa. In a week, from November 25 to December
1 the number of registered individuals went from 72,990 to 77,046, an increase
of 4,056 people. Another 8,460 had gone back to their homes, mostly to the
Nimrod district. There hasn’t been the massive displacement that many aid
agencies feared would happen, but the figures continue to climb.
The majority of the displaced are living in camps and their situation
just got worse. Rain and cold weather are hitting the country. In Khazir camp, Agence
France Presse found tents being flooded and muddy conditions along with
freezing temperatures. Aid agencies rushed in 6,000 heaters to the camp to deal
with the cold. If the poor weather continues the camps will deteriorate.
Al Jazeera visited the historic site at Nimrod. The Islamic
State made a documentary recording its destruction of the place, which was home
to the Assyrian King Ashurnasirpal II. The Deputy Minister of Culture Qais
Rasheed said that militants destroyed 70% of the town’s sites. The priority was
now on trying to preserve what was left and that was easier said then done.
SOURCES
Agence France Presse, “Heavy rain piles misery on Mosul
displaced,” 12/1/16
Beck, John, “How ISIL destroyed Nimrud,” Al Jazeera, 12/1/16
International Organization for Migration, “Displacement
Tracking Matrix Emergency Tracking Factsheet 5# - Mosul Operations From 17
October To 1 December,” 12/1/16
NINA, "Anti-Terrorism Forces Storm 3 Residential Neighborhoods
In Mosul, kill 16 Terrorists," 11/30/16
Rudaw, “Erbil hospitals overcrowded and struggling to cope
with Mosul wounded,” 12/1/16
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