Advance on Mosul slows giving civilians more time to escape

Kurdish troops hold their positions to allow Iraqi forces to move forward

Iraqi and Kurdish commanders said they have paused their advance on Mosul, a day after the start of an operation to retake the city held by the so-called Islamic State (IS).

“We are just holding our positions,” said Colonel Khathar Sheikhan, of the Kurdish Peshmerga, which captured villages east of Mosul on Monday.

“The Iraqi army will now advance past our arenas of control. We have achieved our objectives,” he said.

An Iraqi special forces commander said his troops have delayed an advance following a request from Kurdish forces for more time to achieve their goals.

Brigadier General Haider Fadhil said his men had planned to move at dawn, but postponed the operation.

Meanwhile, a UN official said the world body expects people to start fleeing the city “basically any minute now”.

UN spokesman Jens Laerke told reporters in Geneva that “we haven’t seen any big rush out yet”.

Several UN agencies have been stepping up preparations for an expected exodus from Mosul.

UN officials have expressed concerns IS could use chemical weapons or use civilians as human shields.

Iraqi prime minister Haider Abadi had announced the offensive before dawn on Monday. The US military is providing air support and playing a supporting role on the ground.

A spokesman for the US-led coalition said the operation was proceeding as planned and that Iraqi forces were making “excellent progress”.

Meanwhile, in Baghdad, thousands of followers of an Iraqi Shi’ite cleric marched in front of the Turkish embassy yesterday demanding the withdrawal of Turkish troops from a base near Mosul.

Turkey said the troops are training Iraqi fighters to help retake Mosul and that they are there with the permission of the Iraqi government.

Baghdad denies it granted permission and has ordered the Turks to withdraw – a call Ankara has ignored.

The spat has raised concerns that the defeat of IS could lead to renewed conflict among the various fighting units currently allied against it.

Picture: Getty Images. Refugees arrive in a zone secured by the Iraqi army after fleeing from IS controlled areas of Mosul.

Shi’ite protesters outside the Turkish embassy in Baghdad demanding the immediate withdrawal of Turkish troops from a base near Mosul.