Children bear the brunt of severe food shortage in liberated Mosul areas

GOGJALI, Iraq--The newly liberated neighborhoods inside Mosul, few as they are in the eastern parts, are suffering from severe shortage of food.

 

The Iraqi army has urged the civilians to stay in their homes since the beginning of the offensive four weeks ago, leaving them in the midst of crossfire and intense daily battle.

 

The Iraqi forces provide what little food is available in these areas, as Rudaw’s Ranja Jamal reports, and some families send their children to fetch the rations home. The elders fear arrest and interrogation by the army.

The United Nations World Food Programme said Monday that it is “very concerned about the food security of people trapped inside Mosul.”

The UN agency also reported it has distributed food assistance to some 100,000 people who fled the ongoing war in the city, including a distribution on Sunday to 25,000 people in Gogjali.