"UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, opened a new camp, Hasansham U2, in northern Iraq this week to shelter an increasing number of Iraqi families fleeing the fighting in western Mosul … This is the 12th camp and the latest one to be built by UNHCR and its partners in response to the ongoing Mosul emergency," Mahecic told a press briefing.
Mahecic said that the first buses with refugees had already arrived at the camp on Tuesday and on early Friday the facility sheltered about 500 people.
"Each displaced family arriving at Hasansham U2 receives a tent and other basic aid items including blankets, mats, a cooker, jerry cans, plastic sheeting and a kitchen set. As of today, more than 1,000 tents are ready, enough to shelter over 6,000 people. Hasansham U2 has capacity to accommodate more than 9,000 people when fully occupied," Mahecic said.
The UNHCR is now constructing another camp, al Salamiya 2, capable to accommodate up to 60,000 people.
The Daesh terror group took over Mosul in June 2014. The operation aimed at liberating the city from terrorists started in October 2016. The eastern part of the city was liberated by Iraqi and US-led coalition forces in late January. In February, the Iraqi forces began the operation aimed at liberating western Mosul from the Daesh. The Iraqi army said that it has gained control over two-thirds of the western part so far.
Iraqi President Fuad Masum told Sputnik in March that the humanitarian situation in Mosul was catastrophic, however, it would not be "sensible" to leave the city to terrorists. According to the country’s authorities, more than 630,000 people have been fled Mosul and surrounding areas since the start of the operation.
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