Nearly 25,000 Flee Ramadi Following Islamic State Attack
Last edited Mon May 18, 2015, 07:13 PM - Edit history (1)
Close to 25,000 people fled the Iraqi city of Ramadi after it was attacked by Islamic State militants and most of them headed towards Baghdad, the United Nations said on Monday.
U.N. and other aid agencies have begun distributing food, water and medical supplies as well as setting up temporary camps and latrines, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Iraq said.
Iraqi government forces battled Islamic militants in Ramadi on Friday before fleeing the key city on Sunday, May 17, 2015.
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Video: Iraqi forces vowed to battle Islamic State in Ramadi before fleeing
However, funds for aid operations in Iraq were running out and aid stocks were almost gone, it said.
Ramadi fell to the militants at the weekend and those fleeing were thought to be escaping from Islamic State for a second time, having been among 130,000 who fled from the western Iraqi city in April.
“Thousands of families who had fled earlier had returned to their homes in Ramadi, when fighting again broke out, forcing them to flee a second time,” the U.N. statement said.
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