Iraqi troops are advancing into the western districts of the embattled city of Falluja, hoping to chase out Islamic State militants whose defences have all but collapsed amid a concerted campaign to reclaim the city.
But the government is facing a major challenge in caring for tens of thousands of refugees who fled from Isis as the militants retreated.
“The biggest effort now is on the western axis,” Lt Gen Abdul Wahab al-Saidi told Reuters. “If they collapse on the western axis and our forces reach Golan [a north-western district], you won’t hear any more shots inside Falluja.”
Isis defences collapsed suddenly four weeks into the campaign to liberate the city, which was the first major urban centre to fall to the group in January 2014 and was once considered to be a fortress that could take months to wrest back into government control.
Iraq’s prime minister, Haidar al-Abadi, declared victory over the militants on Friday, but parts of the city still remain under Isis control.
The government also faces an enormous challenge in catering for more than 80,000 refugees who have fled Falluja to camps on the city’s outskirts, and are short of water and food.
Karl Schembri, an official with the Norwegian Refugee Council which is running camps for the displaced, said the situation was deteriorating by the day and said the camps were “hell on earth”. Civilians are surviving on 3 litres of water a day in Iraq’s searing summer heat.
The United Nations has released $15m (£10m) in emergency aid to provide life-saving assistance to those who have fled. The UN’s humanitarian chief, Stephen O’Brien, said displaced people would need urgent help “before this situation becomes a humanitarian catastrophe”.
The conflict with Isis, which also controls large parts of neighbouring Syria, has forced more than 3.4 million Iraqis to flee their homes. More than 40% of the displaced are from Anbar province, according to the UN.
