Traumatised families have described scenes of horror and death as they fled Tal Afar, the latest target in the US backed war on Islamic State.
Though significant gains have been made by Iraqi forces as they try to retake the IS-stronghold of Tal Afar, three quarters of the city remains under the militant control of around 2000 IS soldiers.
Oxfam’s Amy Christian spoke to SBS World News from Erbil, about 60 kilometres south of Tal Afar.
Ms Christian said the scenes at a screening site in Badush were some of the worst she’d seen during her time in the country.
“Families were arriving having walked for a week to get there across the desert,” Ms Christian said.
“It’s fifty degrees here at the moment it’s very, very hot.”
Oxfam workers spoke to people who had been living under IS control for two years, and who had escaped Tal Afar during the night to avoid being killed by soldiers.
Two women said they had their husbands taken by IS as they fled and were left to walk across the desert for over 20 hours to reach safety with their small children.
“They talked about how older people on the route were literally dying in front of them and the road smelled of dead bodies from the people who had already died trying to escape,” Ms Christian said.
Tal Afar was isolated during the nine-month offensive to reclaim Mosul from IS forces.
The United Nations said while more than 30,000 people have fled the city since April, it holds grave concerns for the 40,000 who remain there amid fears they could be used as human shields.
“We’re calling on all parties involved in this conflict to ensure that people escaping from Tal Afar and the areas around Tal Afar are able to get to humanitarian assistance as quickly and easily as possible,” Ms Christian said.
“They’re in desperate need of water food and a safe place to sleep.”
