UNHCR braces for new wave of mass displacement in Iraq

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) warned Tuesday that up to 1.2 million people could be affected in Mosul as military action turns towards Iraq's northern city which has been under Islamic State control for over two years.

"Mosul is Iraq's second largest city, and the humanitarian impact of a military offensive there is expected to be enormous," UNHCR said in a statement.

"Contingency plans have been drawn up to provide shelter assistance for up to 120,000 people fleeing conflict in Mosul and surrounding areas, as part of an inter-agency response to the crisis," it added.

According to the agency, 48,000 people have recently fled the Mosul area, adding to the 165,000 civilians who have been forced to flee their homes in other parts of the country in recent months.

The refugee agency said that it hoped to set up camps in six locations across northern Iraq, though the ability to do so depended on both the availability of land and funding.

As of Aug. 2, only 38 percent of UNHCR's 584 million U.S. dollars appeal for displaced people including Iraqi refugees in the region has been funded.

UNHCR numbers show that close to 3.4 million people have been displaced in Iraq since the beginning of 2014, with some families forced to flee multiple times.

Source : XINHUA