LONDON: Scottish actor Ewan McGregor appealed on Tuesday for help for children in Mosul in northern Iraq, 100 days after the start of an offensive to retake the city from Daesh, saying the situation grew worse daily.
Iraqi forces launched a campaign on Oct. 17 to retake Mosul from the militant group, which captured the city in 2014.
The United Nations said on Tuesday it was “racing against the clock” to prepare emergency aid for hundreds of thousands of endangered civilians in Mosul with an Iraqi army offensive looming to retake the western half of the city.
“Children are easily forgotten in war and conflict, and it is our responsibility to make sure they are not,” said the 45-year-old ambassador for the UN’s children’s agency UNICEF. “Those in Mosul need our help now more than ever,” said McGregor, who stars in the newly released sequel to the cult film Trainspotting.
The actor said he began to understand how devastating the conflict had been after visiting camps hosting tens of thousands displaced Iraqis last year.
“Now there are many more camps for thousands more families seeking safety and protection — and the numbers rise daily,” he wrote in the British newspaper Metro.
Around 40,000 students — most of whom have been kept at home by their parents since the militants captured the city in 2014 — will attend around 70 schools in east Mosul in the coming weeks after the buildings have been checked for unexploded bombs.
Ewan McGregor urges help for children of Mosul
Ewan McGregor urges help for children of Mosul
