Beginning in February, the full-scale assault on the western area of the city of Mosul has resulted in the displacement of a minimum of 425,000 civilians, according to the Iraqi Ministry of Migration and Displacement.
In a Monday statement, Iraqi Minister Jassem al-Jaff noted that a minimum of 600,000 civilians have been displaced since fighting began in the area in November 2016, to reclaim what is thought to be the primary stronghold of Daesh in the region.
Of those 600,000, an estimated 425,000 of those have been placed in refugee camps since February.
Al-Jaff stated that security forces in the area were working to evacuate families to safety, as well as returning those previously displaced to areas freed in the ongoing fighting, according to Iraqi News.
A US-led military coalition, including Iraqi Army troops, retook most of eastern Mosul from Daesh in January, following three months of heavy fighting.
According to UN figures, since the Syrian Civil War began in 2011, a quarter of a million people have been killed, and a minimum of 12 million civilians have been displaced, either fleeing the country or entering refugee camps. An estimated 8 million in the nation remain in dire need of assistance, including medical aid, housing, clean water and education.
Widespread violence in that nation is ongoing, as Western nations continue to bomb areas in the war-torn country thought to be strongholds of terrorism.
