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GENEVA, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- After intense clashes in Mosul at the beginning of the year which forced 4,000 civilians to flee their homes in a single day, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said Tuesday that displacement from the northern Iraqi city now stands at an average of 1,000 people per day.
"Newly displaced people are largely moving to the south and east, where camps run by government and humanitarian partners are taking in the new arrivals and providing humanitarian assistance," OCHA spokesman Jens Laerke said in a statement.
"People are also seeking shelter with friends and family members in neighbourhoods further east of frontline areas," he added.
According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), almost 140,000 people have fled Mosul and its adjacent districts since military operations to reclaim one of the Islamic State's (IS) last strongholds began in October 2016.
Most of the displaced (78 percent) have found refuge in formal camps with the rest finding shelter in private settings, emergency sites and critical shelter arrangements.
Supported by Kurdish Peshmerga fighters, Iraqi troops kicked off operations on Oct. 17, 2016 to recapture the city which fell into IS hands in June 2014 after government forces fled.
According to reports, more than 5,000 IS militants were initially holed up in Mosul.
