ERBIL, Kurdistan Region- Hundreds of families have fled Islamic State (ISIS) territories around Mosul in the last few months and they have taken shelter at Debaga camp south of the Kurdish capital of Erbil. They say this was their last chance to escape the bitter ISIS reality and its choices of either death or joining the group.
Escape came with great risk, as described by Ahlam Abdulsatar, 35, who recently fled from Atayra village near Hawija.
“ISIS has taken control of everything and prevents anyone from escaping by placing checkpoints,” she told Rudaw. “We threw our documents and clothes on the road and started running because if they caught us they would behead us,”
Part of the reason for the recent influx of refugees out of the Islamic caliphate has been consistent attacks against the group by Kurdish Peshmerga and Iraqi forces on many fronts. In addition civilians fear that a bigger offensive against ISIS is still to come.
Debaga camp, near Makhmour, hosts more than 1500 families who mostly come from controlled villages in the area such as Sultan Abdulla, Tal Shaair, Hawija, Gayara, and Khrbardan.
Ban Raad, a 27-year-old mother of three had to walk for 13 hours from Shargat before reaching the Peshmerga-controlled areas and she considers herself lucky for making it out alive.
“I had to walk for 13 hours with my three kids, and I’m pregnant,” Raad told Rudaw. “I lost our IDs and as you can see both my feet are injured because at some point during the journey we had to run to avoid ISIS checkpoints, because they started shooting at us,”
She and her children reached safety covered in dust and sweat, tired and in desperate need of medical attention.
“I had to run barefoot because one of my kids lost his shoes and I had to give them to him,” she recalled the day of her escape.
The families reported it is true they stayed under the group’s iron first for two years, but in recent months they were given two choices: join and fight for ISIS or be starved to death. Added to that, was the constant threat of bombs from warplanes.
“The warplanes report killing ISIS and destroying their camps, but they are only targeting civilians they are all under the tunnels safe,” said Abdulsatar.
To discourage people from leaving, ISIS militants have planted mines and other types of explosives along roads leading in and out of their territories. Some have been killed in the past while attempting escape.
Mohammed Salih, 20, from Gayara risked walked through a minefield and lost a cousin in the process, but, he says, it was well worth it.
Salih was walking after his cousin when an ISIS planted mine exploded and killed his cousin and caused his serious injuries.
“I could not find the body of my cousin, I did not have enough time to look for it,” he said in a deep voice.“If ISIS is Islam then they will die as Kuffars,” he added.
They survived two years of brutal rule and the dangers of escape, but now in safety, they sit under tents in the hot sun and wait for help from international aid organizations. One refugee compared life in the camp as that if being in prison.
Salih does not regret his escape as he believes he would have died under ISIS. He didn’t want to join the group and his mechanic shop went bust because his customers didn’t have any money.
“I just want to go to hospital, I am not allowed to go out,” is all he wants, he says, to seek treatment for severe pain he sustained during his arduous escape.
Abdulsatar had witnessed ISIS brutality firsthand when militants executed people through electricity, hanging their bodies for days or leaving them on the street with no one allowed to bury them.
Her relatives still stranded under ISIS are also cut off from the outside world for they are not allowed to watch TV or make phone calls and in turn have no clue how far or near is the Iraqi army from them.
There was no future for her children under the extremist group as they lost two years of school already.
“ISIS destroyed the future of each student after banning them for going to school,” Abdulstar said, pointing to her children under the tent.
This year the United Nations (UN) asked its members for $861 million to be able to deliver humanitarian assistance to 7.3 million Iraqis like the families at the Debaga camp. Only $265m of the requested amount was received.
“We are using all available resources but we are running out of funds. The international community has invested so much militarily to defeat ISIL. We need to do so much more to help the victims. We cannot let these people down,” UN Humanitarian Coordinator Lise Grande last week.
Ibtisam Ahmed who fled a month ago feels the limited space and little assistance the camp has to offer.
She broke a leg during her escape and risked her life walking in broad daylight to reach safety. Now, all she wants is a tent for her and her children. But the camp is running out of funds and space and most new arrivals are placed under a large communal tent.
The Kurdish region government itself has reached the limits of its capacity with more than 1.8 million refugees. The region is suffering a severe financial crisis and therefore asks the UN and other aid agencies to step in.
The UN refugee agency (UNHCR), the Barzani foundation, the Iraqi and United Arab Emirates Red Crescent are helping the refugees at the Debaga camp. But as the Iraqi army and Peshmerga tighten the noose around ISIS in Mosul, many more families are expected to flee and head to this and other camps across the region.
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