MOSUL, Iraq – A few Mosul families are eager to return to their homes, despite the rubble, security risks, and lack of services. “Thanks be to God. We are returning now. Our houses are completely liberated and this is because of the army’s bravery. We are in our houses now. We wish a happy life for the people of Mosul and Iraq,” said one returnee. Since the launch of the intensified second phase of the military campaign to retake Mosul on December 29, the number of IDPs fleeing the city has jumped by half, according to UN figures. “The average daily displacement numbers have increased by nearly 50 per cent since military operations intensified, some 1,600 to more than 2,300 displaced per day,” UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said in a news briefing on Tuesday. The Kurdish authority managing displaced persons, the Joint Crisis Coordination Centre (JCC) of the Ministry of the Interior, reported on Wednesday that displacement from Mosul has doubled with the second phase of the Mosul operation. Over 85,000 have fled to the Kurdistan Region since the start of the offensive on October 17. “Shelter capacity is very limited,” the JCC said in a tweet.
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