UNHCR Warns Mosul Situation Deteriorating

 The displacement crisis in Mosul is likely to become more acute in the near term, as fighting intensifies in the densely populated western parts of the city, according to Bruno Geddo, the Representative of UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, in Iraq.
An estimated 400,000 people are thought to be living in the Old City in western Mosul, with about 600,000 still in all the neighbourhoods of the Western side of the Tigris River, he said. ""400,000 people trapped in the Old City in that situation of panic and penury may inevitably lead to the cork popping somewhere, sometime presenting us with a fresh outflow of large-scale proportions," he said. 
At the same time, there are grave dangers should they attempt to flee. Those leaving their homes risk being shot on site by ISIS elements. "People are stuck between a rock and a hard place," Geddo added. "There’s fighting shelling, bombing." UNHCR has 13 camps open or under construction with capacity to host up to 145,000 people. Hammam al-Alil currently comprises a screening and transit site and government-built camp. UNHCR has almost completed a second camp to house 30,000 people. The first section of the camp is due to open next week, with capacity for 10,000 people.
The number of people moving through Hammam al-Alil has surged in recent days, with around 8,000-12,000 arrivals daily. Work will soon begin in another UNHCR camp, As Salamiyah 2, south east of Mosul, with projected capacity for up to 60,000 people.

Source: QNA