Iraqi Civilians Pay Heavy Price as Attack on ISIS in Mosul Nears
18, 2017
ERBIL, Iraq — Several hundred thousand civilians are enduring desperate conditions
and facing retribution by Islamic State fighters in western Mosul as Iraqi forces prepare to attack militants who control the city’s western half, according to residents and humanitarian groups.
Food prices in western Mosul are almost twice as high as those in eastern Mosul, Sally
Haydock, the representative of the World Food Program in Iraq, said in a statement.
Hunger pushes them to abandon their principles." The United Nations in Iraq said on Saturday
that most of the 750,000 to 800,000 residents of western Mosul had been living under extreme duress for weeks, creating a humanitarian crisis even before the start of military operations.
In telephone interviews, residents said the Islamic State was using food as a weapon, doling out small amounts to hungry
families in return for information gained by spying on neighbors suspected of aiding Iraqi security forces.
Abu Salah, who lives in the Bab al-Tob neighborhood in western Mosul, said the Islamic
State, also known as ISIS, had recruited three families as spies in return for food.
American commanders say about 2,000 to 3,000 Islamic State fighters remain in
western Mosul after the liberation of the city’s eastern half last month.
Abu Marwan said that We’re no longer afraid of the rockets and the buzzing of bullets — we fear hunger more,