MOSUL: Iraqi forces are using siege and stealth tactics to drive Daesh militants out of Mosul’s Old City, an Iraqi general said, as his forces sought to minimize casualties among hundreds of thousands of people trapped in the cramped, historic neighborhood.
Explosions from two car bombs could be heard nearby as Lt. Gen. Abdul Ghani Assadi spoke to Reuters at his command post on Monday, and a Reuters correspondent saw thick smoke rising from the blasts.
“Most houses in the Old City are very old and its streets and alleyways are very narrow,” said Assadi, a commander of Iraqi counter-terrorism units in Mosul. “So to avoid civilian losses we are using siege, but that does not mean we will not enter the Old City.”
Assadi said his units were refraining from engaging enemy forces in positions where the militants were holding civilians as human shields.
“Using very careful methods and considerations, we will liberate our people from Daesh,” he said, using an Arab acronym of Daesh. Government forces have surrounded the militants in the northwestern quarter, including the Old City, home to the Grand Al-Nuri mosque, where their leader, Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, declared a “caliphate” over parts of Iraq and Syria.
The ultra-hard-line Sunni Muslim fighters are countering the offensive using booby traps, suicide motorcycle attacks, sniper and mortar fire and, occasionally, shells filled with toxic gas .
With food and water becoming scarcer in neighborhoods of Mosul still under Daesh control, up to half a million people are believed to be trapped there, including 400,000 in the Old City alone, according to United Nations estimate.
Lise Grande, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq, told Reuters last week fighting in the Old City could lead to “a humanitarian catastrophe, perhaps the worst” in the three-year war to evict Daesh from Iraq.
International aid organizations have estimated the civilian and military death toll at several thousand since the US-backed offensive by government forces to retake Mosul began in October. More than 330,000 people have been displaced so far, according to the International Organization for Migration.
“Humanitarian partners are preparing contingency plans for a number of different displacement scenarios in western Mosul, including for a possible mass outflow of 350,000-450,000 civilians, or a siege-like situation of the Old City,” the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a report on Tuesday.
Mosul, the largest city in northern Iraq, was captured by Daesh in mid-2014, but government forces have retaken most of it, including the half that lies east of the Tigris River.
The Iraqi military gained additional ground on Tuesday, dislodging the militants from Hay Al-Tanak, one of Mosul’s largest districts by area, on the western edge of the city.
Assadi said the battle should end “very soon, God willing” but declined to indicate a time frame. “This is a guerrilla war, not a conventional one, so we cannot estimate how long it will take; Daesh is fighting house to house.”
The Iraqi military estimate the number of Daesh fighters who remain in Mosul at 200 to 300, mostly foreigners, compared with about 6,000 when the offensive started.
The militants “don’t let themselves get captured,” said Assadi. “They came to die and the majority of them are now in hell.”
Iraqi forces using siege and stealth to evict Daesh from Mosul
Iraqi forces using siege and stealth to evict Daesh from Mosul
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First Ramadan after truce brings flicker of joy in devastated Gaza
- Ramadan lanterns and string lights appear on streets lined with collapsed buildings and piles of rubble in Gaza City
- The first holy month since the October ceasefire brings mixed feelings for the many still living in tents
GAZA CITY: Little Ramadan lanterns and string lights appeared on streets lined with collapsed buildings and piles of rubble in Gaza City, bringing joy and respite as Islam’s holiest month began — the first since October’s ceasefire.
In the Omari mosque, dozens of worshippers performed the first Ramadan morning prayer, fajr, bare feet on the carpet but donning heavy jackets to stave off the winter cold.
“Despite the occupation, the destruction of mosques and schools, and the demolition of our homes... we came in spite of these harsh conditions,” Abu Adam, a resident of Gaza City who came to pray, told AFP.
“Even last night, when the area was targeted, we remained determined to head to the mosque to worship God,” he said.
A security source in Gaza told AFP Wednesday that artillery shelling targeted the eastern parts of Gaza City that morning.
The source added that artillery shelling also targeted a refugee camp in central Gaza.
Israel does not allow international journalists to enter the Gaza Strip, preventing AFP and other news organizations from independently verifying casualty figures.
‘Stifled joy’
In Gaza’s south, tens of thousands of people still live in tents and makeshift shelters as they wait for the territory’s reconstruction after a US-brokered ceasefire took hold in October.
Nivin Ahmed, who lives in a tent in the area known as Al-Mawasi, told AFP this first Ramadan without war brought “mixed and varied feelings.”
“The joy is stifled. We miss people who were martyred, are still missing, detained, or even traveled,” she said.
“The Ramadan table used to be full of the most delicious dishes and bring together all our loved ones,” the 50-year-old said.
“Today, I can barely prepare a main dish and a side dish. Everything is expensive. I can’t invite anyone for Iftar or suhoor,” she said, referring to the meals eaten before and after the daily fast of Ramadan.
Despite the ceasefire, shortages remain in Gaza, whose battered economy and material damage have rendered most residents at least partly dependent on humanitarian aid for their basic needs.
But with all entries into the tiny territory under Israeli control, not enough goods are able to enter to bring prices down, according to the United Nations and aid groups.
‘Still special’
Maha Fathi, 37, was displaced from Gaza City and lives in a tent west of the city.
“Despite all the destruction and suffering in Gaza, Ramadan is still special,” she told AFP.
“People have begun to empathize with each other’s suffering again after everyone was preoccupied with themselves during the war.”
She said that her family and neighbors were able to share moments of joy as they prepared food for suhoor and set up Ramadan decorations.
“Everyone longs for the atmosphere of Ramadan. Seeing the decorations and the activity in the markets fills us with hope for a return to stability,” she added.
On the beach at central Gaza’s Deir el-Balah, Palestinian artist Yazeed Abu Jarad contributed to the holiday spirit with his art.
In the sand near the Mediterranean Sea, he sculpted “Welcome Ramadan” in ornate Arabic calligraphy, under the curious eye of children from a nearby tent camp.
Nearly all of Gaza’s 2.2 million residents were displaced at least once during the more than two years of war between Israel and Hamas, sparked by the latter’s unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel.
Mohammed Al-Madhoun, 43, also lives in a tent west of Gaza City, and hoped for brighter days ahead.
“I hope this is the last Ramadan we spend in tents. I feel helpless in front of my children when they ask me to buy lanterns and dream of an Iftar table with all their favorite foods.”
“We try to find joy despite everything,” he said, describing his first Ramadan night out with the neighbors, eating the pre-fast meal and praying.
“The children were as if they were on a picnic,” he said.
