Over 13,000 Iraqis Flee Mosul in Last 5 Days as Fighting Intensifies

According to the United Nations, more than 13,000 people had to flee Mosul amid the operation to liberate it from Daesh in the last five days.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The ongoing operation to liberate Iraqi Mosul from Daesh forced over 13,000 people to flee the city in the last five days, UN Secretary-General spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a daily press statement.

"The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that military operations to retake the city of Mosul from Da’esh have intensified since 29 December, with the start of an apparent second phase to retake the city causing more than 13,000 people to flee the city in five days," Dujarric stated on Tuesday.

He added that the average daily displacement numbers have increased since the fighting intensified.

Earlier on Tuesday, US Department of Defense spokesman Peter Cook said that Iraqi military forces backed by the United States and its allies had retaken two-thirds of the city.

The operation to retake Mosul from the Daesh terrorist group, outlawed in Russia and many other countries, has begun on October 17, 2016.

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