More than 45,000 flee Mosul as Iraqi forces push into IS-held areas

The battle to retake west Mosul from the Islamic State (IS) group has pushed more than 45,000 people to flee, the International Organisation for Migration said on Sunday.

In total, over 200,000 people have fled the operation to retake Mosul since it began last October.

On 19 February, Iraqi forces launched a major push to recapture west Mosul from IS, retaking the airport and then pushing up into the city from the south.

On Sunday, Iraqi forces moved to take four IS-held neighbourhoods in west Mosul, including one that houses provincial government offices.

The operation for west Mosul has made significant progress, but has been somewhat hampered by bad weather conditions.

However, on Sunday anti-IS forces faced fresh allegations of violations committed during the campaign, with Human Rights Watch accusing them of forcing out relatives of suspected IS militants, who are considered guilty by association.

One women told HRW that she and her family of 14 had been forced from their home in January because her husband's brother had joined IS.

A decree passed in August 2016 stated that immediate families of IS members could be expelled from the governorate for between 10 years and life, and could only return if deemed "safe".

Human Rights Watch also found that hundreds of homes have been destroyed, both those of families thought to be affiliated to IS and those of families who had fled the fighting.

“While politicians in Baghdad are discussing reconciliation efforts in Iraq, the state’s own forces are undermining those efforts by destroying homes and forcing families into a detention camp,” said Lama Fakih, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch.

“These families, accused of wrongdoing by association, are in many cases themselves victims of ISIS abuses and should be protected by government forces, not targeted for retribution.”

Feared million-strong displacement yet to materialise

The IOM figures indicate the number of people who came from west Mosul to sites for the displaced from 25 February, when the arrivals began, through Sunday.

More than 17,000 people arrived from west Mosul on 28 February alone, while over 13,000 came on 3 March, according to the IOM.

IS overran large areas north and west of Baghdad in 2014, but Iraqi forces backed by US-led air strikes and other support have since regained most of the territory they lost.

Iraqi forces launched the operation to recapture Mosul on 17 October, retaking its eastern side in January before setting their sights on the smaller but more densely-populated west.

While the feared exodus of a million or more people from Mosul has yet to materialise, the IOM says that more than 200,000 are currently displaced as a result of the operation, while more fled but later returned to their homes.