UNHCR: Iraqi civilians must be protected in Mosul

(17 Oct 2016) The United Nations refugee agency on Monday called on warring parties in Iraq to spare the lives of civilians and not to use them as hostages or human shields amid a wide-scale military operation to dislodge Islamic State group (IS) militants from the northern city of Mosul. Speaking to reporters in Baghdad, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, said he raised the issue of protecting civilians with the Iraqi government and that Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi agreed with him on the issue. "He understood and he agreed with me very much that, a military operation is a military operation," said Grandi, adding that "protection of civilians is not something reserved to humanitarians, it must be part of that strategy." The comments came hours after the government of Iraq announced the start of the long-awaited Mosul operation. According to UNHCR, more than one million people could be displaced by the campaign to retake the largest IS-held city. In the Dibaga camp, in northern Iraq, new arrivals can't immediately be accommodated because of a lack of housing. More than 54,000 people have fled their homes because of the fighting in the area since March, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR). Dibaga camp was established in 2015 but has hugely expanded in recent months as the Iraqi Armed Forces launched operations against the IS group south of Mosul. The camp has recently opened a new section, which will provide shelter to an additional 6,000 people. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...