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Mosul: Islamic State 'could use civilians as human shields'

Those who choose to flee the IS controlled city are said to be at "extreme risk" from sniper fire and booby traps.

Tuesday 18 October 2016 15:21, UK

A woman walks with children at a refugee camp housing Iraqi families who fled fighting in the Mosul area in the northeastern town of al-Hol in Syria's Hasakeh province
Image: Refugee camps have started to house people fleeing fighting around Mosul
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Thousands of people living in Mosul could be trapped and used as human shields as Iraqi and Kurdish forces close in on the IS-held city, it has been warned.

Islamic State fighters may resort to holding tens of thousands of civilians against their will, the International Organisation for Migration has warned.

The organisation's chief of mission in Iraq, Thomas Weiss, said they could be used as human shields .

He added that he had started storing gas marks due to fears over chemical attacks in the city.

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Camps braced for thousands to flee Mosul

Mr Weiss said: "There has been some evidence that ISIL (Islamic State) might be using chemical weapons.

"Children, the elderly, disabled, will be particularly vulnerable."

The military operation to recapture Mosul could displace between 200,000 and a million people, the UN estimates.

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The RAF is providing intelligence gathering and air support to Iraqi ground forces as part of a US-led coalition, while British military commanders have also provided support and training.

Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said IS (also known as Daesh) is "failing" in Iraq, but warned Iraqi forces would not find it easy to drive them out of the city, saying "this will not be a quick operation, and we can expect Daesh to fight hard".

The warning comes as footage has emerged of people fleeing Hud, a small town around 20 miles from Mosul.

Aid groups have warned that a mass exodus of civilians from Mosul and its surrounding areas could overwhelm refugee camps.

This baby boy was just four days old his family fled their home
Image: This baby boy was just four days old when his family fled their home

The UN Refugee Agency has five camps open with the space to shelter 45,000 people.

It says it could handle 120,000 people if it is able to find sites for several other camps.

  1. Iraqi security forces advance in Qayara, south of Mosul, to attack Islamic State militants
    Image: Iraqi security forces advance in Qayara, south of Mosul, to attack Islamic State militants
  2. Iraqi forces hold a position in the area of al-Shurah, some 45 kms south of Mosul, as they advance towards the city to retake it from IS jihadists
    Image: An Iraqi force of around 30,000 is leading the offensive to take back Mosul - Islamic State's last major stronghold in the country
  3. Peshmerga forces in the east of Mosul
    Image: Peshmerga fighters take on IS fighters near Mosul, in what is expected to be a long and difficult assault on the large northern Iraq city
  4. A woman walks with children at a refugee camp housing Iraqi families who fled fighting in the Mosul area in the northeastern town of al-Hol in Syria's Hasakeh province
    Image: A woman walks with children at a Syrian refugee camp housing Iraqi families who fled fighting in the Mosul area. Continue through for more pictures
  5. Smoke billows as Iraqi forces deploy on October 17, 2016 in the area of al-Shurah
  6. Peshmerga forces gather in the east of Mosul to attack Islamic State militants
  7. Iraqi forces deploy in the area of al-Shurah, some 45 kms south of Mosul, as they advance towards the city to retake it from IS jihadists
  8. Smoke billows as Iraqi forces deploy in the area of al-Shurah
  9. Peshmerga forces walk in the east of Mosul during operation to attack Islamic State militants
  10. Smoke billows as Iraqi forces deploy in the area of al-Shurah
  11. Smoke rises from clashes in the east of Mosul
  12. People who fled the Islamic State's strongholds of Hawija and Mosul, receive aid at a camp for displaced people in Daquq, Iraq

During a visit to one of the camps, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi met a woman who was forced to flee her home with her four-day-old baby.

She said: "I couldn't take all our belongings, we just started moving."

On the humanitarian situation, Mr Grandi said: "The more civilians will feel protected inside Mosul, the less they will be displaced.  

"And for those who feel they have to go because it is dangerous, they have to be treated with dignity, with respect in full respect of their rights."

An Iraqi soldier is reunited with his family on the front lines of the battle
Image: An Iraqi soldier is reunited with his family on the front lines of the battle

UN humanitarian coordinator for Iraq, Lise Grande, told Sky News that the organisation is "very worried" about the safety of those who choose to leave the city.

She said: "We expect that they're going to be at extreme risk from sniper fire and barrages.   

"We know that large parts of the city are probably booby-trapped."

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Strategic target: Planning the taking of Mosul

The Iraqi government has said that it lacks the funds to adequately prepare for the humanitarian fallout of the battle and in some cases commanders say they are encouraging civilians to stay in their homes rather than flee.

Falah Mustafa, the foreign minister for Iraq's Kurdish region, said: "While we may be celebrating a military victory we don't want to have also created a humanitarian catastrophe."

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