Situation Overview

Following the intensification of military operations in Mosul City on 29 December, the rate of displacement from Mosul has increased markedly, with over 9,000 people having fled the city in the space of four days.

In comparison with the average daily rate of displacement in November, the intensification of military operations has caused a roughly 50 per cent increase in the number of people fleeing on a daily basis.

Displacement has largely been to the south and east, where camps run by government and humanitarian partners are taking in the new arrivals and assistance is being provided. Ongoing return movements have also been of note.

To date, an estimated 14,000 people have returned to their homes in recently accessed areas including outlying areas of eastern Mosul, like Gogachly and al-Quds. Markets in these areas are reopening, and people are able to access humanitarian assistance, despite pockets of insecurity.

There are serious concerns on the deteriorating humanitarian situation in western Mosul city and the corridor to Tel Afar, since the military encircling has led almost no commercial goods entering. There is no humanitarian access to these ISIL controlled areas. Moreover, people displaced from eastern Mosul have reported rapidly rising food prices in the city over the last two months.

When the last bridge across the Tigris collapsed following an airstrike on 27 December, people in eastern Mosul were cut off from supplies and services in the west of the city. As a result,  stockpiled foodstuffs will dwindle, negatively affecting food security amongst the civilian population. Reported food needs in eastern Mosul are likely to be similar in western Mosul, as families are forced to cope with this situation.