UN says 90,000 civilians could be trapped in Iraq's Falluja
The United Nations on Wednesday revised significantly upward the number of civilians believed trapped in besieged Falluja, an Islamic State stronghold near Baghdad, to possibly 90,000 from a previous estimate of 50,000.
In a telephone interview with Reuters in Baghdad, UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq Lise Grande for Iraq warned that the civilians could face a "harrowing" situation in the besieged city 50 kilometers (32 miles) west of Baghdad.
The Iraqi army began an offensive to dislodge the insurgents from Falluja on May 23, but the city has been under a de facto siege, with no supplies getting in, for about six months.
