Thousands flee anti-IS offensives in Iraq and Syria

Mosul: Tens of thousands of civilians have fled offensives against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria, where the jihadists are battling to keep what remains of their territory, the UN said on Sunday.

IS overran large areas of both countries in 2014, declaring a "caliphate" in territory it controlled, but the jihadist group has since lost ground to Iraqi forces and faced advances from different groups in Syria.

Amid intense fighting in recent days, tens of thousands of displaced have been seen arriving in areas outside IS control, many hungry and terrified after years under jihadist rule.

In Iraq, the offensive by US-backed Iraqi forces to retake west Mosul from IS has displaced more than 45,000 people in little more than a week, the UN migration agency said.

In neighbouring Syria, more than 26,000 people have been forced to flee fighting in the country's north in the same period from February 25, UN humanitarian agency OCHA said.

Before the battle for Mosul was launched in October, a million-plus civilians were thought to still live inside Iraq's second city, which is IS's last major bastion in the country.

Iraqi forces backed by US air strikes in January retook the eastern side of the city, which is divided by the Tigris River, before setting their sights on its smaller but more densely populated west.

They launched a major push to recapture west Mosul from IS on February 19, retaking the airport and then pushing up into the city from the south.

Families escaping the battle for west Mosul have arrived in droves at sites for the displaced in the past week, the International Organization for Migration said.

Yesterday, Iraq's minister of displacement and migration criticised UN-led efforts to aid those displaced by the fighting, while the UN said that such assistance is the "top priority".

More than 200,000 are currently displaced as a result of the Mosul operation, while more fled but later returned to their homes, IOM said.

In Syria, OCHA said 26,000 people had fled areas in the northern province of Aleppo where government forces backed by Russian air power have been waging a fierce offensive against IS.

Those areas lie east of the town of Al-Bab, which Turkey-backed rebels seized from IS on February 23 after several months of fighting in another advance on the jihadist group.

The UN agency said the nearly 40,000 people displaced from the town since November fled north to areas controlled by other rebel forces.

Many have sought refuge in areas around Manbij, a town controlled by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces.