Upcoming military offensives in Iraq against Islamic State, including an assault on the northern city of Mosul, could displace at least 2.3 million people, the United Nations humanitarian coordinator for Iraq said on Thursday.
The prediction of such a vast humanitarian emergency creates additional complications for the Iraqi government and its U.S. allies, who have announced plans for offensives to drive IS fighters this year from most of their Iraqi territory.
More than 3.4 million people across Iraq have already been forced by conflict to leave their homes, according to the United Nations. In the past month, 85,000 people fled Falluja, an IS stronghold an hour's drive from Baghdad, amid a military campaign that has recaptured large parts of the city.
Most of the displaced are from Iraq's minority Sunni community, raising concerns among officials that U.S.-backed military gains against IS will not bring stability to Iraq more than 13 years after a U.S.-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein, a Sunni.
IS fighters swept through much of northern and western Iraq two years ago and declared a caliphate to rule over territory there and in neighboring Syria.