Iraqis fleeing fighting in west Mosul (Reuters)
The Iraqi forces (ISF) made two advances in the final battle
for Mosul. Zinjali
was declared freed for the second time. The last few days the ISF have been
contradicting themselves about whether the neighborhood was liberated or not. Bab
al-Sinjar, one of the northern entrances to the Old City was also taken. That
has shifted the heavy fighting to Shifa
and the Old
City district, both of which are along the Tigris River. The ISF are going
to attack the latter from multiple directions with the army, police, and Golden
Division. Shifa and the Old City are the only two sections of the city still
under Islamic State control. The combat is incredibly intense due to the dense
layout and the fact that the IS fighters have nowhere to go.
The Guardian
reported that the Hashd were emptying all the villages in western Ninewa. There
was more evidence of that. The United Nations reported
that from June 5-11 14,000 people arrived from the Baaj area along the
Iraq-Syrian border. No one was really being displaced from this area beforehand.
The Hashd have told people they have to leave because the area is not safe with
explosives and perhaps stay behind insurgents. The question is whether they
will be allowed to return. The Hashd may want to turn western Ninewa into a
security zone to stop foreign fighters from sneaking into Syria from their
traditional routes through this area. They also want to protect the Shiite
Turkmen that live there. Finally, the pro-Tehran Hashd want to create a land
route from Iran through Iraq to Syria to assist the Assad government. Together
that may mean much of west Ninewa will remain empty of civilians.
There was a tragedy at a displacement camp east of Mosul. A
Qatari charity delivered
meals to the Hassan Sham U2 camp to be eaten after the daily fast for Ramadan
was over. The food was prepared at a restaurant in Irbil and then delivered to
the camp. 800 people became ill from food poisoning from the dinner. Originally
the Irbil health director claimed a child
died as a result, but then said that was based upon the wrong information.
There were further stories
that 2 adults passed away. The restaurant owner was arrested as a result.
The number of displaced (IDPs) continued to climb. On June
10, there were 402,126 registered IDPs, the first time the figure had
passed the 400,000 mark. By June 13 that had risen to 411,600. The number of
people coming out of Mosul has remained steady for the last two weeks at around
2,000-3,000 per day. The recent increase was due to the forced displacement
going on in west Ninewa by the Hashd.
Kuwait funded a dialysis
center at a hospital in Irbil that serves IDPs from Ninewa. The clinic treats
around 100 patients per day for free. Kuwait is one of the few regional
countries that is helping the people of Ninewa. It has donated another $4
million to the International Organization for Migration, one of the major IDP
relief agencies. The Kuwait Red Crescent is also operating inside Mosul
delivering aid and food.
SOURCES
BBC, “Iraq displaced
hit by food poisoning in camp near Mosul,” 6/13/17
Chulov, Martin, “Booby-traps … but no Baghdadi: the men
cleaning up after Isis in northern Iraq,” Guardian, 6/12/17
Handicap International, “Mosul: 200,000 people trapped by
fighting,” 6/13/17
International
Organization for Migration, “Displacement Tracking Matrix Emergency Tracking
Mosul Operations Data Snapshot: 13 June 2017,” 6/13/17
Iraq Newspaper,
“Iraqi Newspaper Correspondent In Mosul Freed Bab Sinjar Neighborhood,” 6/13/17
Iraq Oil Report,
“Inside Mosul: June 13, 2017,” 6/13/17
Al Jazeera, “Mosul
battle: Fleeing civilians caught in crossfire,” 6/13/17
Khabaar, "Commander Of Ninewa We Are Coming
Yarallah: the full liberation of Zanjili neighborhood and the storming of
Al-Shifa neighborhood in Mosul," 6/13/17
Al Mada, “Complete liberation of Zinjili and start breaking
into Shifa neighborhood,” 6/13/17
Al Maydeen, “Iraq:
correspondent in the field: very violent clashes between the Iraqi forces and
Daash in Shifa,” 6/13/17
Mostafa, Nehal, “Iraqi armed forces announce progress in
Mosul campaign, say district north of old city captured,” Iraq News, 6/13/17
Rahal, Layal Abou,
“Terrified civilians hide form gunfire in Mosul pre-school,” Agence France
Presse, 6/13/17
Reuters, “Iraqi
armed forces announce progress in Mosul campaign, say district north of old
city captured,” 6/13/17
Rudaw, “Dialysis
hospital in Erbil receives Kuwait-funded,” 6/13/17
- “Erbil health
department says child not dead from Mosul camp food poisoning,” 6/13/17
UN Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, “Iraq: Mosul Humanitarian Response
Situation Report No. 37 (5 to 11 June 2017), 6/11/17
Xinhua, “Iraqi forces continue fierce battles against IS
militants in western Mosul,” 6/13/17
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