Iraqi mass exodus

GENEVA: Up to 1 million people could be forced to flee their homes in Iraq soon as fighting intensifies in a government offensive to retake Mosul from Islamic State militants, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said yesterday.

US- backed Iraqi government forces have stepped up their military campaign against Islamic State in an expected push on Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city and the militants’ biggest bastion, later this year.

“Up to a million more people could be forced to flee their homes in Iraq in the coming weeks and months, posing a massive humanitarian problem for the country,” the Geneva-based ICRC said.