伊拉克流离失所者的新营地

Fighting between Iraqi forces and militants affiliated with the Islamic State group near the northern Iraqi town of Makhmour has displaced thousands of people. A new camp to accommodate them has been built outside the Kurdish town of Dibaga, west of Irbil.

According to the UN refugees agency, UNHCR, in the last month, Dibaga has received around 100 internally displaced people per day. The new camp currently houses 49 families and it can only shelter about 800 people.

The UN estimates that there are 3.3 million internally displaced people across Iraq. The country has witnessed a surge in violence as government forces battle to contain the Islamic State group, which swept across Iraq in 2014 and still holds large swathes of territory in the north and west.

"For the last month, we have a daily influx of almost a hundred people a day on average who have come from ISIS (Islamic State group) occupied territory and moved to Dibaga," said Frederic Cussigh, senior field coordinator of UNHCR.

"Those families who want to escape from Islamic State towards the security forces, they face obstacles like roadside bombs and snipers. The majority of the people have suffered great losses because of that. For example, a month ago a man who arrived here, he had to leave his wife and daughter in the trenches. They stepped on a bomb," said Riyad Ahmad, displaced person from Kherbardan.