With fighting in Iraq intensifying, up to one million more people could be forced to flee their homes in the coming weeks and months, posing a massive humanitarian problem for the country, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has said.

Therefore, on Friday the ICRC is asking for an additional CHF 17 M (EUR 15.6 M) from donors to its current budget for Iraq to replenish aid supplies, the organization said in a statement.

The number of people internally displaced in Iraq could increase ‘dramatically’ from the current level of over three million, according to the ICRC.

ICRC’s Regional Director for the Near and Middle East, Robert Mardini, warned of a likelihood that fighting will intensify, particularly in the area of Iraq’s second-largest city of Mosul.

“Hundreds of thousands of people may very well be on the move in the coming weeks and months, seeking shelter and assistance. We need to be ready,” Mardini said in the statement.

More than 10 million people are already in need of assistance in Iraq, according to the ICRC.

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