Tens of thousands of civilians have fled the besieged Iraqi city of Fallujah as government troops and militias continue their offensive against Islamic State fighters, sparking warnings of a humanitarian crisis from aid agencies.
The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, stated that more than 80,000 people have fled the city since the government offensive began more than 4 weeks ago.
"Agencies are scrambling to respond to the rapidly evolving situation and we are bracing ourselves for another large exodus in the next few days as we estimate that thousands more people remain trapped in Fallujah," said the UNHCR.
Karl Schembri of the Norwegian Refugee Council told Al Jazeera that in the last three days alone, some 30,000 people have fled the city. "This comes after months of besiegement," he added.
"They have been eating rotten dates and animal feed - and drinking from the river, which is undrinkable."
His colleague Nasr Muflahi said “the overwhelming number of people that have come out of Falluja has actually overwhelmed our ability to respond to the people in need".
"We implore the Iraqi government to take charge of this humanitarian disaster unfolding on our watch," he added.