"The humanitarian operation [in Mosul] is at a tipping point," Grande said on Tuesday. "Based on our own scenario plan, at the moment we are staring our own worst case scenario straight into the face."
The UN originally projected the worst-case scenario to be one million civilians impacted and 750,000 in need of direct assistance, Grande explained. However, the UN is now providing direct assistance to 774,000 civilians that have fled Mosul and another 500,000 that who remain in their homes in the east of the city.
Grande added that in the next few weeks an additional 200,000 civilians are expected to flee Mosul.
The US mission to the UN called on the Security Council to address the Mosul crisis on Tuesday.
The Iraqi operation to recapture Mosul, the key stronghold of the Islamic State (banned in Russia) in Iraq, began in October 2016 and resulted in the liberation of Mosul’s eastern part this January. Fighting continues in the city's west, with Iraqi forces closing in on the Old City.
