Skip to main content

Over 10,500 displaced from Mosul need aid

Countries
Iraq
Sources
OCHA
Publication date

Highlights

  • Over 10,500 people are currently displaced and in need of humanitarian assistance. Partners are providing emergency assistance in camps and host communities. The majority of displaced people are sheltering in host communities.

  • Population movements are fluctuating as the front lines move, including people returning to their homes following improved security conditions in the immediate area.

  • Assessments have recorded a significant number of female-headed households, raising concerns around the detention or capture of men and boys.

  • Almost 14,500 people have received emergency assistance within 24 hours of areas newly-retaken from ISIL becoming accessible to humanitarian partners since the start of military operations.

Situation Overview

As of 26 October, the IOM Displacement Tracking Matrix emergency tracking system (DTM ET) has recorded 10,548 people displaced by the military operations to retake Mosul, a more than twofold increase from the last reporting period. Movements of displacement are becoming increasingly complex, as people flee the fighting in multiple directions. Some people are moving to displacement sites, and formal camps are currently housing 34 per cent of the displaced population. The majority of people have sought shelter in host communities, which are vulnerable themselves, and in need of humanitarian assistance.

As of 24 October, at least 3,300 people had returned to their villages soon after they have been retaken from ISIL.
The majority of movements of return have been to Al Houd, with small pockets happening in other areas. Returning families are particularly at risk of improvised mines and other explosive hazards. There is also a very real risk of booby traps in buildings in retaken villages; a tactic that ISIL has used previously.

Concerns around family separation amongst the affected population have been raised. An assessment carried out in Al Qayyarah Jad’ah camp indicated that half of the participating households were female-headed. Some of the interviewees stated that men had been detained during displacement; others reported men being killed in the crossfire. The assessment also highlighted the absence of boys aged 14-18, and flagged the possibility that they could have been forcibly recruited by ISIL or captured for use as human shields. Furthermore, in interviews with protection partners, people in Al Houd confirmed that while the town was under the control of ISIL, families had deliberately separated in order to protect children, and had not yet reunified. An assessment in Zelikan camp on 23 October also recorded that almost two thirds of the camp population aged between 5 and 59 years was female.

Oil wells and the sulphur factory close to Al Qayyarah continue to burn. Thus far, 1,000 people have sought health care assistance as a result of the toxic fumes.

The affected population comprises displaced people in camps and host communities and vulnerable resident populations, some of whom are hosting displaced people. As the front lines move and towns and villages become accessible to humanitarian partners, the extent of humanitarian needs in these communities is being uncovered. There is considerable concern that vulnerable resident communities could fall through gaps in the response, and partners are making significant efforts to guard against this by keeping operational planning flexible and responsive to the evolving situation, and targeting all people in need, not just the displaced population.

Partners are providing emergency assistance to people arriving in and around Al Qayyarah, and in Debaga and Zelikan camps. As of 25 October, seven camps are ready to receive displaced people, with a total of 10,044 available plots that could house 60,264 people. Forward missions close to the front lines have reached over 14,500 displaced people and vulnerable residents with emergency assistance, but access remains a major challenge.

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs: To learn more about OCHA's activities, please visit https://www.unocha.org/.