Iraq pauses Mosul push over concern of high civilian deaths

MOSUL ( Iraq): Iraqi government forces paused in their push to recapture western Mosul from Islamic State militants because of the high rate of civilian casualties, a security forces spokesman said.

The halt was called as the United Nations expressed its profound concern over reports of an incident during the battle on March 17 that killed or wounded dozens of people in the Islamic State-held al-Jadidah district of Mosul, apparently involving air strikes by Iraqi or US-led coalition forces.

“We are stunned by this terrible loss of life,” Lise Grande, the humanitarian coordinator for Iraq, said in a statement.

Civil defence officials and residents have said many people lay buried in collapsed buildings after air strikes against Islamic State insurgents triggered a big explosion.

The exact cause of the collapses was not clear but a local lawmaker and two residents said the air strikes may have detonated an IS truck filled with explosives, destroying buildings in the heavily-populated area.

Reports on the numbers of civilian casualties have varied but Civil Defence chief Brigadier Mohammed Al- Jawari told reporters on Thursday that rescue teams had recovered 40 bodies from collapsed buildings.

The coalition is investigating the reports.

Residents escaping besieged western Mosul have told of Iraqi and US-led coalition air strikes demolishing buildings and killing civilians in several cases.

The insurgents have also used civilians as human shields and opened fire on them as they try to escape Islamic State-held neighbourhoods, fleeing residents said.

“The recent high death toll among civilians inside the Old City forced us to halt operations to review our plans,” a Federal Police spokesman said yesterday.