Nearly 1,000 civilians flee the Iraqi City of Mosul ahead of battle

[nicoleivy5]

Nearly 1,000 civilians flee the Iraqi City of Mosul ahead of battle
Over 900 people have fled the Iraqi city of Mosul and crossed the border into Syria, the UN refugee agency says.

Up to 1.5 million are thought to be in Mosul, with up to 5,000 IS fighters.

There are fears the militants will use the civilians as human shields as Iraqi forces get closer to Mosul.

 

[waltky]

Desert Camps Start Taking in Fleeing Mosul-area Villagers...

New Mosul-area Desert Camps Start Taking in Fleeing Villagers
October 30, 2016 — As Iraqi families speed away from the frontlines of the battle against Islamic State in trucks, the thousands of tents in the desert countryside surrounding Mosul are slowly being occupied by fleeing villagers.

Some say the militant group appears to be losing strength, leaving checkpoints unmanned and losing track of escapees. About 40 people rode into this camp on the backs of two flatbed trucks late Friday. Early that morning, they had fled bomb-laden villages guarded by Islamic State militants. As guards open the gates to the camp, family members in the dirt parking area weep and kiss their relatives through the truck’s grated sides. “We were afraid to run,” says 26-year-old Youseff, a former construction worker traveling with his wife and toddler. “But we had no choice. IS fired on us as we escaped the village.”

Families wait by the fence as soldiers screen incoming refugees in Khazir Camp in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq​

Women and children gather by one section of the fence, while men lean their backs on another part. The men all have IS style-beards and shortened trousers, as is law under the militants. Many shave soon after arriving, says Islam, a Peshmerga soldier in the camp. “They are ordinary people, and it bothers them to look like IS,” he explains. Some men also are staying in IS territory, he says, despite fearing the group and the ongoing battles as Iraqi and Peshmerga soldiers fight towards Mosul, the militants' largest stronghold in Iraq and home to 1.5 million people. “Members of IS stay,” he says, “But others stay to protect their homes, or confuse the militants into thinking theirs is not a family that ran away.” In many places, IS says it will kill any relatives remaining if residents flee.

Smoke rises at Islamic State militants' positions in the town of Naweran, near Mosul, Iraq​

By the fence, Youseff says ultimately it wasn’t just harsh punishments, draconian rules or even fear of battle that forced them to flee after more than two years. With no jobs and no access to the outside word, his family was broke. And the militant group appears to be losing its grip on the village, he adds. Like many people here, he decided it was time to run. “Before, they were very strong, but now they seem weaker,” he explains. “So we took a chance.”

How IS took over

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Shiite militias join Iraqi forces in Mosul offensive
Oct. 29, 2016 -- A group of Shiite militias largely absent from the Iraqi offensive to retake Mosul from the Islamic State jumped into the fray Saturday, opening a new front on the west of the embattled terrorist stronghold.

The militias, known as the Popular Mobilization Units and backed by Iran, had not to this point played a significant role in the 100,000-plus troop force organized by Iraqi and Kurdish military leaders and backed by the United States. Al Jazeera reported the support received from the militias is more than most military leaders in the region expected.

Iraqi and Kurdish forces have approached Mosul from the north and southeast, but the western edge of the city had largely been uncontested prior to Saturday's offensive by PMU fighters. Roads leading through the area are of strategic significance. If they fall under the PMU's control, it would cut off the ability for IS fighters to flee over the Syrian border. A spokesman for the militias said 11 villages to the west of Mosul had been "liberated" from Islamic State control.

The emergence of the Shiite militia forces is not entirely welcome news for U.S.-backed interests in the region. Government forces have worried that such groups, which do not fall under U.S. or Iraqi control, could turn an anti-terrorist offensive into a humanitarian crisis if the Shiite militiamen begin targeting Sunni civilians for violence in villages they overtake. Many Sunnis view the PMU as equally threatening as the Islamic State.

Elsewhere in Iraq, a suicide bomber killed eight and wounded nearly a dozen more after he detonated himself in a section of western Baghdad. No group had claimed responsibility for the attack.

Shiite militias join Iraqi forces in Mosul offensive

 

[B. Kidd]

ISIS is sniping those trying to leave. Most have been told to hunker down and put a white flag on their roof.

Now..........let's return to the sanitized nightly U.S. news.