MOSCOW, August 22 (RIA Novosti) - The number of Iraqis fleeing the Islamic State (IS) militants for the Kurdish north has reached 700,000 people, Agence France-Presse reported Friday citing the United Nations.
“The Kurdistan region of Iraq is now hosting close to 700,000 displaced Iraqis, most having arrived in early June,” spokesman for the UN’s refugee agency Adrian Edwards was quoted as saying.
He added that the exact numbers will be announced in early September.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is continuing its 10-day aid operation in Iraq aiming to bring there a total of 2,410 tons of aid by air, land and sea.
According to Edwards, the second Boeing 747 delivered more tents to the regional capital Erbil on Thursday and that more flights were planned Friday and Saturday.
UNHCR assesses Iraq's current humanitarian challenges as immense. While most of the displaced are still living rough in schools, mosques, churches, unfinished buildings and elsewhere, UNHCR has been pitching hundreds of family tents every day.
The Islamic State group, also known as the Islamic State in Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS or ISIL), was named among the main recruiters of foreign jihadists.
On Tuesday, the IS released a video showing the beheading of American journalist James Foley. The execution was performed by a man who called himself John and was speaking English with southern British accent. John is believed to be the leader of a group of British jihadists in the IS.
The IS is an extremist group that has been fighting against the Syrian government since 2012. In 2014, the IS launched offensive on northern Iraq, seizing vast areas and declaring an Islamic caliphate.
