IS targets hungry, poor civilians
Iraqi forces prepare to attack militants in western Mosul
IRBIL, Iraq — Several hundred thousand civilians are enduring desperate conditions and facing retribution by Islamic State fighters in western Mosul as Iraqi forces prepare to attack militants who control the city’s western half, according to residents and humanitarian groups.
In telephone interviews, residents said the Islamic State was using food as a weapon, doling out small amounts to hungry families in return for information gained by spying on neighbors suspected of aiding Iraqi security forces. They said several residents accused of phoning security forces with information about Islamic State activities had been killed in recent weeks.
Food, water and fuel for cooking and heating are unavailable or are being sold at prohibitive prices in the area’s densely packed neighborhoods. Militants have begun hoarding food and supplies while restricting the movements of civilians in anticipation of a government assault, residents said. Stray animals are wandering nearly empty streets.
“We’re no longer afraid of the rockets and the buzzing of bullets — we fear hunger more,” said Abu Marwan, a government employee from western Mosul. “Anyone who owns a bag of flour or rice is rich.”
Like others interviewed, Abu Marwan, citing concerns about safety, agreed to speak on the condition that his full name not be published. He and others are identified by honorifics or nicknames. Residents said anyone caught using a cellphone risked being beaten or killed by militants.
Abu Salah, who lives in the Bab al-Tob neighborhood in western Mosul, said the Islamic State had recruited three families as spies in return for food. He said they had identified eight young men who were subsequently arrested by militants and accused of providing information to Iraqi security forces.
“We call this food for information,” Abu Saleh said. “These are poor families. Hunger pushes them to abandon their principles.”
The United Nations in Iraq said Saturday that most of the 750,000 to 800,000 residents of western Mosul had been living under extreme duress for weeks, creating a humanitarian crisis even before the start of military operations.
Once the battle for western Mosul begins, a top U.N. official said, 250,000 to 400,000 people may try to flee. Emergency sites are being built south of Mosul, where food and other supplies are being gathered to accommodate a rush of displaced people.
“Tens of thousands of people may flee or be forced to leave the city,” Lise Grande, United Nations’ humanitarian coordinator for Iraq, said in a statement Saturday. “Hundreds of thousands of civilians might be trapped — maybe for weeks, maybe for months.”