A Turkish official says between 100,000 and 400,000 people could flee the fighting in Mosul and make their way toward Syria, Iraq’s Kurdish-administrated region or the border with Turkey.
Kerem Kinik, head of the Turkish Red Crescent organization, tells The Associated Press on Wednesday that the “humanitarian aspect” of the Mosul operation had not been well thought out by the coalition forces.
He warns that with more than 3 million people already displaced in Iraq, officials would struggle to cope with the exodus. Kinik says his organization was working with officials in northern Iraq and the Iraqi Red Crescent to help support humanitarian efforts there. Some 20 Turkish aid trucks had been dispatched to the region.
New camps for up to 20,000 families are under construction by international aid agencies in northern Iraq and could be ready within a week.
The Turkish official says he believes the refugees would mostly be “taken under control” within Iraq, but added that Turkey is prepared for a refugee influx.
— AP
Iraqis wait at a checkpoint on October 18, 2016 near the town of Qayyarah, south of Mosul, during Iraqi forces’ operation to recapture the city from the Islamic State group. (AFP PHOTO / BULENT KILIC)
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