Cold winter complicates humanitarian situation in Mosul

BAGHDAD: As if the chaotic scenario in Iraq was not enough, the arrival of harsh and cold winter season in Mosul had increased the suffering of displaced Iraqis fleeing from the ongoing military operation to rid the city from the so-called Islamic State (IS).

According to government statistics, around 90,000 citizens have fled the city so far; however, the cold winter had become another issue that the authority must deal with to avoid a humanitarian catastrophe.

A number of displaced Iraqis in AlKazer camp said though the situation in refugee camps - erected by the UN and other regional and international bodies - is relatively safe, the cold winter began to take its toll on them.

Ammar Ibrahim, one of the displaced, said that the tent in which his family was living in had become a freezer due to the lack of adequate heating units and fuel. The UN and other bodies could only provide so much to the displaced, but the situation is beyond human capacity, said Ibrahim. Hassan Abdulkareem, another displaced person, said that the cold weather is having a devastating effect on many of the camp’s elders and people with illnesses. The lack of medicine and suitable health facilities also adds to the dire situation, said Abdulkareem.

Speaking about the efforts to better the situation of the displaced, the camp’s coordinator Zarkar Obaid said that they were doing what they could despite of the odds. He affirmed that blankets, fuel for heating units, and other necessities were continually being handed out to the displaced Iraqis, but all these efforts are being overwhelmed by what is going around them. — KUNA