PHOTOS: Mosul city still in rubble as first anniversary of liberation nears

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – One year following its liberation from Islamic State (IS) extremists, the city of Mosul remains a pile of rubble, and its people are still displaced, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) says.

The people of Mosul are suffering due to the lack of support from the international community as thousands of people from the city, and surrounding areas have not been able to return to their homes, the NRC said in a statement on Thursday.

“More than 380,000 people are still displaced in and around Mosul as the city lies in ruins with a staggering eight million tons of debris, a year since it was retaken from [IS extremists],” it added.

According to the NRC, 90 percent of western Mosul remains devastated, including the complete destruction of 62 schools and partial damage to 207 others.

The statement reveals that around 54,000 houses in Mosul and its surrounding areas, destroyed due to the military operations against IS extremists, have not been reconstructed, adding that nearly 900 million USD is needed to repair basic infrastructure in the city.

Wolfgang Gressmann, the NRC’s Iraq Country Director, said the victory against IS a year ago had not been translated to relief for the people in Mosul, noting that “they are still waiting to return to normality and the international community is not helping enough.”

The Mosul liberation operation was launched on Oct. 17, 2016, with the participation of 100,000 fighters, including the Kurdistan Region’s Peshmerga, Iraqi forces, and Hashd al-Shaabi, backed by the US-led anti-IS Global Coalition.

On July 10, 2017, the Iraqi Prime Minister declared the full liberation of Mosul city, the capital of the self-claimed IS caliphate in Iraq.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany