30,000 civilians escape as Iraqi forces advance on Tal Afar

Hours after a military operation to restore Tal Afar from Daesh began United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator in Iraq Lise Grande has claimed that over 30,000 civilians escaped.

On Sunday morning Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi announced the start of military operations to liberate the district of Tal Afar in Iraq – one of Daesh’s last strongholds in the country – 65 kilometres west of Mosul. As well as Tel Afar the army are targeting the towns of Ayadiya, Al-Mahalabiya and 47 other villages.

Grande added that she has no exact information about the number of civilians who are still there. “Thousands of people are escaping from Tal Afar for safety and families spend 10 to 20 hours travelling at very high temperatures to reach points where displaced people gather,” she said.

Read: ‘Fight until the last breath’, Iraq starts offensive to take back Tal Afar from Daesh

The UN expects more and more civilians to flee the area as the battles begin. It warned that people in the city do not have adequate food, water and essential necessities to survive.

Grande called on all parties to do their best to avoid civilian casualties and to ensure that people get the humanitarian aid that is provided under international humanitarian law. About 150 families from the Tal Afar district have been able to reach camps in Iraqi Kurdistan which are overcrowded with displaced people.

Norwegian Refugee Council spokeswoman Melanie Markham told Al-Jazeera that, “there were people who escaped from Tal Afar but were arrested in two areas in the east of Mosul and were prevented from entering the Kurdistan region. We did not know why they were prevented, but I think people who were coming out of there were overwhelmed by fear”.