UN: 100,000 Children in Mosul Are in Dangerous Conditions

The United Nations Children's Fund, UNICEF, announced in a statement on Monday that around 100,000 children are trapped in very dangerous conditions in war-torn areas in the north of Mosul, Iraq. According to Reuters, the UNICEF statement specified that the Islamic State (ISIS) is using children as human shields. Meanwhile, several other children are caught in the midst of the war between government forces and Islamist militants. The statement noted that some of these children have been forced to participate in the fighting and conflict. UNICEF also emphasized that some reports indicate that with the intensification of clashes in Mosul, a number of children have been killed while trying to flee the area. Reuters reports that journalists and cameramen from this news agency saw the bodies of several civilians, including children, in conflict areas who appeared to have attempted to escape from the besieged region. UNICEF has also called for a halt to all bombings of schools, hospitals, residential areas, and water supply facilities in Mosul. The Islamic State was able to quickly seize large parts of western Iraq, including Mosul, in 2014. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of this group, declared a caliphate in the al-Nuri Mosque in Mosul that same year. The Iraqi government has taken measures over the past three years to combat this group and has retaken several cities under Islamic State control. In this context, Iraqi forces began their operations to retake Mosul last fall. Currently, the battle for control of the last parts of western and northern Mosul is ongoing between government forces, supported by airstrikes from the US-led coalition, and Islamic State forces. Reuters states that about 700,000 people have managed to flee Mosul and are currently living in camps and shelters. In this context, the Islamic State has fortified around the Mosul mosque in preparation for the final battle.