100,000 people displaced since Mosul operation began: Iraqi Minister

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – Since the launch of the Mosul military operation, about 100,000 people were displaced, said the Iraqi Minister of Migration and Displacement Darbaz Mohammed on Sunday.

Mohammed also stated they expected more people to be displaced inside Mosul.

According to him, since the beginning of the Mosul offensive, civilians have been moving from both Mosul and Hawija to the Kurdistan Region and other parts of Iraq.

The Minister noted over 13,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) had returned home in the past few weeks following the liberation of their areas from the so-called Islamic State (IS).

He mentioned up to 2,000 Iraqis were displaced on a daily basis with 70 percent of them fleeing to the Kurdistan Region.

Darbaz revealed there was a close cooperation between the federal government of Iraq and the United Nations to make preparations for some 500,000 IDPs.

However, the Minister added the large number of displaced people was not expected to arrive anytime soon.

The Kurdistan Region is home to over 1.8 million IDPs and refugees who fled from other parts of Iraq and Syria due to the threat of the extremist group resulting in 30 percent of the total population of Kurdistan.

IS occupied Mosul, the second-largest city in northern Iraq, in June 2014.

Shortly afterward, the group expanded to other provinces in Iraq including Anbar, Salahaddin, and Diyala.

Since then, the extremist group lost most of the territory it once controlled.

Iraqi and Peshmerga forces launched the Mosul offensive on Oct. 17. The forces have liberated many districts and neighborhoods inside the city, as the operation continues.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany