Civilians from Mosul seek safety at the refugee camps

World Today

Civilians from Mosul seek safety at the refugee camps

As the Iraqi security forces continue their advance into Mosul the civilian casualties are beginning to mount.

CCTV’s Jack Barton has this report from ISIL’s last stronghold in Iraq.

In Mosul’s al-Samah neighborhood ambulances wait at the ready.

“We do first aid for the injured, for civilians mostly, but the military as well. Mostly its civilians,” Mutaaz Kerim, a medic, said.

Civilians increasingly caught in the crossfire, or ISIL abuse as the battle rages between the army and the extremist group.

For residents lucky enough to make it out the camps are waiting. Within them, they can find food, shelter and safety.

As tough as the conditions are in this camp, they are much better than the conditions we saw down in Fallujah the last city the army recaptured from ISIL, and its clear that lessons have been learned and better preparations put in place.

But the numbers in these camps are still relatively small. It’s believed about a million people remain trapped inside Mosul forced to act by ISIL as human shields in a conflict that could drag on for weeks or even months.