Report: 30,000 people displaced from Fallujah in 3 days

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) has said that clashes in the city of Fallujah have forced at least 30,000 people to flee over three days.

The Iraqi forces managed on Thursday to regain control over the city centre, but Daesh continues to control areas north of the city.

NRC explained in the report that a further 32,000 people had already been displaced since the military operation to retake Fallujah began a month ago.

The report warned that dozens of families, including hundreds of pregnant women and elderly, are still trapped in the city.

NRC’s Iraq Director Nasr Muflahi said in the statement, “We implore the Iraqi Government to take charge of this humanitarian disaster unfolding on our watch.”

Muflahi said NRC is no longer able to provide the required assistance as food and water supplies are running out.

He pointed out that a newly-opened camp in Amriyat al-Fallujah, which houses 1,800 people, has only one toilet for women.

“We need the Iraqi Government to take a leading role in providing for the needs of the most vulnerable civilians who have endured months of trauma and terror,” Muflahi said.

Daesh took control of Fallujah in January 2014. Since then some 3.4 million people have been forced from their homes by conflict across the country. More than 40 per cent of them are from Anbar, the province in which Fallujah is located.