UN chief at Iraq camp urges more aid for people of Mosul

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March 31, 2017 11:46 AM

Guterres is on the second day of a visit to Iraq, after meeting with top officials in Baghdad on Thursday.

Iraqis fleeing their homes in Mosul's Old City carry their belongings on March 30, 2017

UN chief Antonio Guterres appealed Friday for more aid and international solidarity for the people of Mosul, as he visited a camp for Iraqis displaced by fighting with jihadists.

"We don't have the resources that are necessary to support these people and we don't have the international solidarity that is needed," Guterres told journalists during a visit to the Hasan Sham Camp.

"Unfortunately, our programme here is only funded at eight percent; that shows how limited our resources are," he said.

"These people have suffered enormously, and they go on suffering. We need more solidarity from the international community," he said.

Guterres is on the second day of a visit to Iraq, after meeting with top officials including Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi in Baghdad on Thursday.

His visit comes as Iraqi forces battle to retake second city Mosul, which was seized by the Islamic State jihadist group in 2014.

The fighting has sparked major humanitarian concerns, killing hundreds of civilians and displacing more than 200,000 since the operation to retake the city's western side began last month.

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