Iraqi Army Drive on Mosul Creates 330,000 More Displaced Persons - UN Spokesman

330,000 people were displaced by military operations in the Mosul area in Iraq, according to UN Secretary-General spokesperson Stephane Dujarric.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The drive by the Iraqi forces backed by the US coalition against the Islamic State, also known as Daesh, to liberate the city of Mosul has forced almost one third of a million more people to flee their homes, exacerbating the refugee crisis in northern Iraq, UN Secretary-General spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters on Friday.

"[On the] Iraqi front, 330,000 people [have been] displaced by military operations in the Mosul area," Dujarric told a press conference at UN headquarters in New York City.

More than 287,000 of those refugees, or 87 percent have already sought refuge in displaced person camps, the UN spokesman added.

On Thursday, the US Department of Defense announced further progress by the Iraqi army in its battle to retake the city of Mosul from the Daesh. It said Iraqi forces had connected their different ground lines of advance into the city.

The Daesh is a designated terrorist organization outlawed in Russia and numerous countries around the world.