Liberation fo Mosul must be followed by dialogue, UN says

The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) said that the liberation of Iraqi city of Mosul from the Islamic State (IS) terrorists must be followed by genuine dialogue which is conducive to peace and stability in the Middle East country, a UN spokesman told reporters here Tuesday.

With the start of the liberation drive, UNAMI called on the Iraqi people to unite in support of their country's armed forces and is urging that every step be taken to avoid civilian casualties, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said at a daily news briefing here.

"The UN Mission said the liberation must be followed by genuine dialogue leading to an historic compromise among all components of Iraqi society in order to consolidate victory and ensure sustainable peace for the future," said the spokesman.

Reports on the first 36 hours of the military operations in Iraq indicate that military activities on the ground have taken place in less populated areas and are not leading to immediate large scale displacements of affected people, he said. "No significant civilian displacement out of Mosul has been recorded so far."

"Serious concerns remain for the protection of civilians as hostilities intensify closer to and in densely populated and urban areas," he said.

Movement out of the city so far has been very limited and displacement is anticipated to become more significant in the coming week. An estimated 200,000 people are anticipated to be displaced in the first weeks of the offensive.

"In a worst-case scenario, one million people could be displaced," he said.

"Humanitarian partners will be doing everything possible to support people that may be displaced in context of the military operation," he said. "Preparations are focusing on identification, assessment and establishment of displacement sites to receive displaced families. Continuous monitoring of civilian displacement is taking place."

Iraqi security forces on Tuesday recaptured more villages from the IS militants, as part of a major offensive aimed at liberating the city of Mosul, the last major IS stronghold in Iraq, a security source said.

Mosul, some 400 km north of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, has been under IS control since June 2014, when Iraqi government forces abandoned their weapons and fled, enabling IS militants to take control of parts of Iraq's northern and western regions. Enditem