UN mission to resume operations in eastern Mosul Sunday: spokesman

The United Nations said Thursday that the UN mission will resume its operations in eastern Mosul in north Iraq on Sunday after it temporarily suspended its activities earlier this week out of security concerns.

"Following the temporary suspension of UN missions into eastern Mosul earlier this week for security reasons, a new security risk assessment was undertaken and the suspension has now been lifted," Farhan Haq, the deputy UN spokesman, said at a daily news briefing here.

"Missions can resume again on Sunday," he said. "Despite the temporary suspension of UN missions, aid operations were not suspended, and many partners continued to deliver humanitarian programs and assistance in eastern Mosul."

Meanwhile, humanitarian partners in health are responding to an acute shortage of medical supplies in the newly accessible areas of Mosul by delivering medicines and other medical supplies to 16 primary health centres, one hospital and the Directorate of Health of Ninewa Governorate, he noted. "These supplies will support treatment of patients with infectious diseases, chronic conditions, diarrheal diseases and trauma cases."

In early January, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that nearly 140,000 people have been internally displaced as a result of the fighting in Mosul where fierce clashes continued to drive out the Islamic State (IS) militants.

Trauma cases remained extremely high as 683 people from eastern Mosul needed to be sent to hospitals in other cities this week, OCHA said.

Humanitarian partners have reached 50,000 people in eastern Mosul with food, water and hygiene items; while there was no humanitarian access to IS-controlled areas of western Mosul where humanitarian concerns are increasing.

In October last year, Iraqi troops kicked off operations to recapture Mosul, some 400 km north of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, which has been under IS control since June 2014.

(APD)