Conflict threatens life of 100,000 children in west Mosul: UNICEF
UNICEF stated on Monday that they receive alarming reports of civilians and children being killed in west Mosul while trying to flee the area.
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – UNICEF stated on Monday that they receive alarming reports of civilians and children being killed in west Mosul while trying to flee the area.
“Children’s lives are on the line. Children are being killed, injured and used as human shields. Children are experiencing and witnessing terrible violence that no human being should ever witness. In some cases, they have been forced to participate in the fighting and violence,” UNICEF Representative in Iraq Peter Hawkins said in a statement.
He mentioned that about 100,000 children from both genders are suffering in Old Mosul and other areas located on the western side of Mosul. “Many are caught in the crossfire, and hospitals and other medical facilities have reportedly come under attack.”
Hawkins urged all parties and forces in western Mosul to always prioritize the safety of children in line with their obligations under humanitarian law.
“Attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure including hospitals, clinics, schools, homes and water systems should stop immediately,” he added.
The operation to retake west Mosul from the Islamic State (IS) started on Feb. 19, 2017, and Iraqi forces continue to advance.
The jihadists have control over a small territory in the area believed only to be a four square kilometers defense line.
Iraqi federal police forces on Monday with the support of Iraqi warplanes began attacking IS defense lines in Mosul's Old city's Bab al-Jadid neighborhood in west Mosul, killing seven jihadists, Police forces added in a statement.
It also mentioned police forces found an IS torture jail in the Tammuz 17 neighborhood in the northwest of Mosul, where three discovered bodies seem to have been tortured in inhumane ways.
Editing by G.H. Renaud