Over 14,000 people displaced by violence in northern Iraq: UN agency

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said that more than 14,000 Iraqis have been displaced from their homes and registered in camps following a renewed offensive by the Iraqi Security Forces against Da'esh, or the Islamic State (IS), in southeastern Mosul since late March this year, a UN spokesman told reporters here Tuesday.

"There are no safe routes for internally displaced people (IDP) escaping the violence and families use secondary routes, mostly at night, crossing dangerous terrain," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said at a daily news briefing here. "There are reports that some IDPs are trapped, severely injured or killed in minefields on their way to safety."

"An eventual assault on Mosul could result in a massive displacement, upwards of 600,000 people," the spokesman said. "UNHCR and other humanitarian agencies have been drawing up contingency plans to respond."

In addition, there has been an influx of around 6,700 Iraqis who have entered Syria's northeastern Hassakeh Governorate, using local smuggling networks, since April, he noted.

"They include families who have managed to escape Mosul and those who have left surrounding areas, anticipating more fighting," Dujarric said. "The journey is hazardous, with families often travelling at night."

"UNHCR teams and partners in Syria are identifying new arrivals, and carrying out regular needs assessments to coordinate assistance," he said, adding that they include some 5,400 who arrived in the past few months and are staying at the newly reactivated Al-Hol camp in Syria.

On March 24, the Iraqi forces and Kurdish security forces known as Peshmerga launched the first phase of a major offensive and recaptured several IS-held villages south of Mosul, some 400 km north of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, as part of preparations to flush out IS militants from Mosul, the capital of Nineveh Governorate. Endit