Mosul operation sends 28,000 injured people to Erbil hospitals

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – Erbil received about 28,000 injured people since the Mosul battle began on Oct. 17, 2016, causing medicine shortages in the capital of the Kurdistan Region, the Erbil General Health Directorate announced on Thursday.

According to the announcement, almost 14,000 of them were directly wounded during military clashes in east Mosul, including both civilians and security members.

The report also stated the rest were injured and taken to Erbil hospitals due to various diseases inside and around Mosul because of a lack of medical services in the area.

“Most of the injured civilians were due to mortar shells and explosions in Mosul, especially during the days of liberating neighborhoods in the [east] side,” read the announcement.

“There were [several] wounded people during the operation of retaking Salam Hospital in eastern Mosul,” the announcement continued.

Moreover, the Directorate mentioned the battle to retake Mosul from the Islamic State (IS) had a direct impact on Erbil hospitals.

“[The Mosul operation] has resulted in a shortage of medicines and medical needs in hospitals,” the Health Directorate explained.

“The drugs and medical needs that were set to be consumed for eight months were finished in two months,” the Directorate added.

The Erbil General Health Directorate criticized the federal government of Iraq for not providing sufficient medical aid, claiming Baghdad’s support to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in this regard was “very limited.”

It mentioned Baghdad had been helpful to some extent by supporting Erbil field hospitals in the Internally Displaced Person’s (IDP) camps.

“We have requested the federal government of Iraq to address this issue, but their response has been insufficient,” the announcement claimed.

It also noted the World Health Organization (WHO) along with other NGOs had been helpful.

The Kurdistan Region is home to over 1.8 million refugees and IDPs who fled from the threat of IS in Syria and other parts of Iraq.

The Interior Minister of the KRG Karim Sinjari previously warned of an impending humanitarian catastrophe in the Region.

He called for immediate and direct aid to prevent a humanitarian disaster due to the lack of proper shelter and medical care for civilians fleeing from Mosul to Kurdistan.

The number of IDPs gradually increases as the Iraqi security forces begin to launch military operations to retake the west side of Mosul from IS.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany