Up to a million people are trapped in the Islamic State-controlled city of Mosul. As Iraqi, Kurdish and tribal forces close in, men, women and children are expected to come streaming out. Protecting them will be one of the largest, most complex humanitarian operations in the world.
Kurdish forces are approaching from the east, pushing their front line into IS’s backyard. Iraqi forces edge up from Baghdad north toward Mosul, slowly taking village after booby-trapped village as coalition jets bomb IS targets.
People are already desperately trying to flee the fighting.
According to the United Nations, IS last week captured some 3,000 people trying to escape the fighting south of Mosul. Some are being used as human shields. Some were shot, others blown up, and there are reports that IS burned some alive.
The incident took place near Hawija, just east of the corridor laid out for the thousands expected to flee the looming battle for Mosul.
Families that have managed to escape are filling up camps in the surrounding area to bursting, as humanitarian agencies rush to build more, creating bleak landscapes of off-white tents and grey concrete blocks.
Adding to their misery is suspicion. Civilians previously fleeing IS were considered victims; the people of Mosul have been living under IS for more than two years and are seen by some as collaborators.
There is also the question of the Hashd al Shaabi, an umbrella group of Shi’ite militias.
The Hashd al Shaabi have been accused of illegally interrogating, and torturing and executing Sunni males during the recent military operation in Fallujah. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al Abadi has said the government is investigating, but some 1,000 men remain unaccounted for.
According to the Institute for the Study of War, major Iranian-backed Shi’ite militias are already seeking to formalize their participation in operations in northern Iraq. The US-led coalition, Kurdish and Ninewa officials will likely resist letting Shi’ite militias to deploy in the area out of fear of sectarian reprisals.
“There is a huge amount of work going into getting the Hashd al Shaabi to play an appropriate role,” said a Western diplomat familiar with the planning process. “Any kind of retribution, any form of retaliation that is outside the judicial process will make reconciliation that much harder. It is clearly unacceptable.”
Credits
Reporting and Text: Sharon Behn
Photos: Sharon Behn, Bertalan Feher, AP and courtesy UNHCR
Map: courtesy UNOCHA, overlay by Rosie Brown
The boundaries and names shown and the designations used on this map do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by the United Nations. Due to the fluidity of the conflict, control status is likely to change.
