Hundreds get food poisoning at camp near Mosul

MOSUL. – Hundreds of people have fallen ill from food poisoning in a camp for displaced Iraqis east of Mosul, officials say.

People started vomiting and some fainted after eating the fast-breaking iftar meal on Monday, lawmaker Zahed Khatoun, a member of the Iraqi parliament’s committee for displaced people told Reuters news agency yesterday.

The Kurdish news agency Rudaw, citing Erbil health department officials, said at least one child had died and more than 800 people were affected. It added that Erbil’s mayor said the owner of the restaurant that made the food had been arrested.

The camp houses those displaced due to the ongoing offensive to retake Mosul from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS).

A US-backed military operation to retake ISIS’ last three remaining enclaves outside Mosul’s Old City began last month – the latest push in a major operation that began in October.

Aid groups have repeatedly expressed their concerns over the safety of hundreds of thousands of civilians who have been forced to flee and are at risk of being caught in the crossfire.

Almost 10 000 people fled from Mosul’s northwest and the Old City every day during the last week of May, the UN said.

More than 750 000 people have been displaced from the city since October. – Al Jazeera