Erbil hospitals receive 50 injured a day from Mosul: WHO

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – The World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday reported an average of 50 patients per day were treated at emergency rooms in Erbil, Kurdistan Region. 

Moreover, the United Nations confirmed about 1,500 people were injured in Mosul over a fortnight with numbers compiled from the Region’s medical facilities. 

Almost 140,000 civilians had fled the city of Mosul since an operation to free the area from the Islamic State (IS) began on Oct. 17, 2016. 

Kurdish Peshmerga and Iraqi security forces launched the offensive with support from the US-led coalition. 

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) revealed an estimated 1,000 people seek refuge away from the city each day. 

The Kurdistan Region has been forced to carry the burden of fleeing victims and currently houses nearly 1.8 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) and refugees. 

Most of the displaced fled other parts of Iraq and Syria to escape the brutality of IS. 

Upon their emergence in 2014, IS occupied Mosul along with other provinces in Iraq including Sinjar, Anbar, and Nineveh. 

The insurgent group lost extensive ground since then and is on the brink of defeat in the country.  

Toward the end of the first phase of the Mosul military operation, Iraqi security forces complained the large number of civilians in the city slowed the troops’ advance. 

With the second phase underway, more civilians were encouraged to seek refuge away from the city. 

The Prime Minister of Iraq Haider al-Abadi previously stated the threat of IS would be removed from the country within a few months. 

Editing by Ava Homa