UN fears operation near Mosul will displace 30,000 more Iraqis

An ongoing joint Iraqi operation against the Islamic State group south of the city of Mosul could 

displace 30,000 civilians in the coming weeks, the UN refugee agency warned on Tuesday.

Iraqi federal and Kurdish forces backed by the US-led coalition against IS launched the offensive in March in the province of Nineveh, of which jihadist-controlled Mosul is the capital.

These forces are still at least 50 kilometres (30 miles) south of Iraq’s second city but the fighting there has been forcing thousands of civilians from their homes.

An existing camp in Debaga, which lies east of Makhmur — the main staging ground for that operation — already hosts around 8,000 people, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees said. “As many as 30,000 newly displaced individuals may arrive in Makhmur over the coming weeks as the military offensive continues,” the UNHCR said in a statement.