Post-Daesh Mosul facing serious health risks: Iraq NGO

By Ahmed Qassim

NINEVEH, Iraq

The presence of large numbers of decomposing bodies in and around Mosul constitutes a dire health risk to the city’s population, a local health organization warned Friday.

“According to civilian and military sources, some 2,500 bodies still remain buried under the rubble in western Mosul,” Abul Samei al-Naas, head of Al-Hayah, an Iraqi NGO devoted to promoting public health, told Anadolu Agency.

“This puts the entire city at risk of epidemics and diseases that can affect the digestive system,” al-Naas said.

He went on to urge the local authorities to take immediate steps to locate and bury the bodies.

Western Mosul’s Old City district bore the brunt of Iraq’s three-year confrontation with the Daesh terrorist group.

Iraqi forces completely liberated Mosul last summer after a nine-month military campaign.