BAGHDAD (Dispatches) – The United Nations has warned that Daesh terrorists are directly targeting civilians trying to flee from Iraq’s west Mosul.
The UN’s humanitarian relief coordinator, Lise Grande, stressed that the terrorists were killing families as Iraqi forces entered the final stages of their operations to liberate the city.
"We know that Daesh is directly targeting families as they try to escape, we know that there are very limited stocks of food and medicines, we know that there are severe shortages of water and electricity,” she said.
"Civilians are going to be at the most extreme risk they have been during the entire campaign…All of the evidence points to the fact that the civilians who are trapped in these neighborhoods and districts are in grave danger," she added.  
Meanwhile, at least 20 Iraqi civilians were killed in airstrikes conducted by the so-called U.S.-led coalition in the northern parts of Mosul's Old City.
Meanwhile, tens of thousands of civilians in parts of Mosul held by Daesh are struggling to get food, water and medicine, the United Nations said, days into a new push by Iraqi government troops to take the northern city.
Grande spoke a day after Iraq's army said it had launched a new offensive to take the militant zones on the western side of the Tigris river.
Progress has been slow, an Iraqi government adviser told Reuters, also late on Sunday. "The fighting is extremely intense ... the presence of civilians means we have to be very cautious," he said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
People who had managed to get out of the terrorist areas "report a dramatic situation including lack of food, limited water and severe shortages of medicines," Grande said by phone.
"We know that there have been health facilities in these areas, but we don't know whether they are still functioning."
Government forces have been dropping leaflets over the districts telling families to flee - but many have remained fearing getting caught in the cross-fire.
"We have been informed by authorities that the evacuation is not compulsory ... If civilians decide to stay ... they will be protected by Iraqi security forces," said Grande.
"People who choose to flee will be directed to safe routes. The location of these will change depending on which areas are under attack and dynamics on the battlefield," she added.
The latest Iraqi government push is part of a broader offensive in Mosul, now in its eighth month.