BRUSSELS, Feb 17 (KUNA) -- The EU commended Friday Iraqi authorities and military forces for having put protection of civilians at the core of their military strategy in Mosul despite the challenges of fighting the so-called Islamic State (IS) in densely populated areas.
"As the offensive on western Mosul is to start soon, we call for the continued commitment to do everything possible to protect the hundreds of thousands of civilians and to help them to access safe areas, including establishing safe evacuation routes," said EU Commissioner for humanitarian aid Christos Stylianides in a statement.
He also renewed the EU call for humanitarian access, for the urgent delivery of principled, lifesaving aid to civilians in all active conflict areas.
He added that the EU is a leading donor in the international response to the Iraq crisis with 159 million euro in humanitarian support in 2016 and 266 tons of assistance in kind like shelter, water, sanitation and hygiene. (end) nk.mt