Norwegian Refugee Council: 30,000 displaced from Iraq's Fallujah in three days

Baghdad: Fighting in the Iraqi city of Fallujah has displaced at least 30,000 people in three days, the Norwegian Refugee Council said on Sunday, warning that a humanitarian disaster was unfolding.

Iraqi forces achieved a breakthrough on Thursday, taking over the centre of Fallujah while the Islamic State group retreated to areas in the north of the city.

That allowed thousands of civilians who had been used as human shields to flee the city, a key jihadist stronghold west of Baghdad that had been besieged for months.

“The estimated total number of displaced from Fallujah in just the last three days is now at a staggering 30,000 people,” the NRC said in a statement that was released on Sunday.

The aid group, which runs displacement camps around Fallujah, said another 32,000 people had already been displaced since the start of the government offensive against the IS bastion nearly a month ago.

It said it believed dozens of families were still inside Fallujah, including the most vulnerable civilians such as pregnant women, the sick and the elderly.