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Iraqi News, July 20, 2016

A top UN official in Iraq has warned that the military operation in Mosul will lead to the largest and most dramatic humanitarian crisis in the world and this could impact as many as 1.5 million civilians.

The UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq Lisa Grande, in a statement, said, “The impact of the Mosul military campaign on civilians will be devastating,” adding that, “The civilians are likely to suffer in numbers and the families trying to escape will be at extreme risk.”

Grande added, “The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is asking for an additional $284 million to start preparing food, water, emergency shelter and medical assistance and other aid.”

“Military operations by the Government of Iraq and its allies to retake areas from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) are already forcing hundreds of thousands of civilians, including more than 85,000 people from Fallujah, to flee their homes in search of safety. Humanitarian partners are stretched in every conceivable way,” Grande said.

According to OCHA, “Virtually every camp and reception center receiving newly displaced families are already filled up to the capacity.”

The latest appeal is for an extra amount of  $861 million, which waOCHA asked at the beginning of the year. So far, only 40 per cent has been received.

“Ninety-nine front-line programs, including 30 life-saving health programs, have already shut and hundreds more will in the weeks and months ahead if we don’t receive support,” said Grande.