Mosul: World Vision sets up child protection centres at newly established refugee camp

World Vision has begun setting up centres for the protection of child refugees fleeing fighting in the Iraqi city of Mosul.

We have become one of the first humanitarian agencies to start supporting children at Zelican camp - a new settlement just 25km (15 miles) from Mosul, as a military offensive to re-take the city from ISIL continues.

Aaron Moore, Head of Programmes for World Vision in northern Iraq, said: “Our child-friendly spaces provide a safe place for children to come to terms with the violence they’ve seen, and just take time to play as children again amidst the chaos of this conflict.

“We can only imagine the difficult journeys they’ve made and the horrors they’ve seen on the way. In most cases, they have nothing; they will be tired, hungry, thirsty and in need of food, water and somewhere to sleep. Our main concern at this point is the safe passage of children and their families out of Mosul and surrounding areas,” he explained.

The establishment of the new camp comes as a military operation -- announced a week ago -- advances towards the city of Mosul. Aid agencies fear that up to a million people could flee the fighting.

World Vision’s response work at Zelican provides clean water, showers and toilets, hygiene kits, and basic household items like cooking stoves. The aid agency is also already responding to the needs of hundreds of thousands of people who fled Mosul when it was first taken by ISIL in June 2014.