Canada calls for more aid as groups brace for flood of civilians from Mosul
OTTAWA — Canada has added its voice to calls for the international community to do more as aid groups brace for a potential humanitarian crisis near the Iraqi city of Mosul.
Iraqi and Kurdish forces this week launched a massive assault on Iraq’s second-largest city to free it from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. The operation had been expected for months and is seen as a pivotal moment in the fight to defeat ISIL.
In anticipation of the attack, the United Nations as well as a number of aid groups have been pre-positioning supplies for months to deal with an expected flood of civilians fleeing the fighting. Mosul is home to an estimated 1.2 million people.
But those efforts have been marred by a shortage of funding. The UN asked the international community in July for $284 million in aid for the Mosul offensive, but less than half has been pledged.