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More than 25,000 people flee military operations in central Iraq

Xinhua, April 18, 2015 Adjust font size:

Aid agencies and local authorities report that an estimated 25,500 people have fled central Ramadi District in Iraq, because of military operations launched on April 8, a UN spokesperson told reporters here Friday.

"The families have reportedly fled to places including Ramadi, Khaldiya, Habaniyah and Baghdad," Eri Kaneko, the UN associate spokesperson, said at a daily news briefing here.

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), the World Food Programme (WFP) and partners have provided initial emergency aid, including food, water, mattresses and hygiene items to recently displaced families, she said.

"Additional assistance will be provided in the coming days," she said. "Medical NGOs (non-governmental organizations) have also mobilized to provide mobile health clinics in Baghdad and its surrounding areas."

More than 2,000 families have fled the Iraqi city of Ramadi, with little more than clothes on their backs, officials said Thursday, as the Islamic State group closed in on the capital of western Anbar province, clashing with Iraqi troops and turning it into a ghost town.

The fleeing Ramadi residents were settling in the southern and western suburbs of Baghdad, the Iraqi capital, and tents, food, and other aid were being sent to them, reports said. Endite