The battle for Fallujah, Iraq
Aid workers scrambled Sunday to cope with a massive influx of civilians who fled Fallujah, Iraq, after government forces retook much of the city from the Islamic State group.
Tens of thousands of civilians escaped from the city, just 50 kilometers (30 miles) west of Baghdad, on the back of a major advance that saw Iraqi forces thrust into central Fallujah in recent days.
The humanitarian community has been struggling to cope, with thousands of people already suffering from hunger and trauma now stranded in the scorching summer heat with no shelter.
“The estimated total number of displaced from Fallujah in just the last three days is now at a staggering 30,000 people,” the Norwegian Refugee Council said.
The United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, said that up to 84,000 people had been forced to flee from their homes since the start of the government offensive against the ISIS bastion nearly a month ago. (Agence France-Presse)
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