iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) announced that it entered the Iraqi city of Mosul this week for the first time in two years, bringing much needed emergency humanitarian aid to thousands of civilians who have become trapped in the ISIS stronghold.
“Our teams are moving quickly to provide immediate support to communities affected by the fighting,” Hamida Ramadhani, a UNICEF Iraq deputy representative, said in a statement.
Eight cargo trucks filled with “enough emergency supplies to last 15,000 children and their families — a total of 30,000 people — for a month” arrived in eastern Mosul on Sunday, UNICEF announced in a statement on Tuesday.
The aid included water purification tablets, high energy biscuits, hygiene items, baby supplies and other urgently needed supplies.
Up to 1.5 million people remained trapped in Mosul. Of those, 600,000 are children, according to UNICEF.
The International Organization on Migration simultaneously announced that the total number of individuals currently displaced in Mosul tops 56,400, according to data released Tuesday by IOM Iraq’s Displacement Tracking Matrix. IOM Iraq has been working to deliver humanitarian assistance to those fleeing the conflict in Mosul, the aid group added.
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