Tuesday, July 19, 2016

Planning For 'The Day After Mosul Falls' Begins In Washington This Wednesday

Kurdish Peshmerga forces keep watch in a village east of Mosul, Iraq, May 29, 2016. REUTERS/Azad Lashkar

Reuters: As Mosul fight approaches, worries about the day after

Dozens of defense and foreign ministers will meet in Washington on Wednesday and Thursday to take stock of the fight against Islamic State, their focus increasingly on a major prize: the militant group's bastion in Mosul, Iraq.The battle for Mosul is expected to be difficult, but the aftermath could be tougher, Iraqi, United Nations and U.S. officials say. Plans are still being finalized to provide urgent humanitarian aid and restore basic services and security for residents and as many as 2.4 million displaced people.Defense ministers of the anti-Islamic State coalition will meet at Joint Base Andrews outside Washington on Wednesday, followed by a joint session of foreign and defense chiefs on Thursday.

The United Nations is preparing for what it says will be the largest humanitarian relief operation so far this year as terrified people stream out of the path of the advancing Iraqi military and flee from the city itself. They will need shelter, food and water, and sanitation for three to 12 months, depending on the extent of the city's destruction.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: Everyone is predicting a humanitarian crisis during the battle and after Mosul falls .... a prediction that I wholeheartedly agree with.

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