Iraqi families flee Mosul amid army offensive to retake city

reporting from Iraq by Mohammed Shaikhibrahim The Iraqi army has released footage of its forces retaking a village near the strategic base of Makhmur, near the city of Mosul in the north of the country. The release of the footage came days into the Iraqi operation aimed at recapturing Mosul from the so-called Islamic State group (ISIL). Mosul has been under ISIL control since June 2014. Iraqi authorities say they are aiming to retake it within a year. The Iraqi operation is being supported by Kurdish Peshmerga troops and air strikes from the US-led coalition. Mosul is the largest city controlled by ISIL. (function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.3"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));[In pictures] Our correspondent Mohammed Sheikhibrahim is in northern Iraq to cover the Iraqi and Kurdish Peshmergas...Posted by euronews on Monday, March 28, 2016 The fighting has displaced hundreds of families in the area. Many are sheltering in a youth centre on the outskirts of Makhmur, some 90 kilometres south of Mosul. One displaced woman at the centre told euronews: “We were tortured by ISIL. We are living like prisoners, we feel thirsty and hungry all the time. We feel scared, the shelling has been going on right by our homes.” Euronews correspondent Mohammed Shaikhibrahim reported from Makhmur: “Since the start of the military operation to liberate Mosul, the number of refugees has been increasing day by day. Amid a shortage of food and medicine, they continue to appeal to the international community for humanitarian aid.”