Is anything left of Mosul?

Lucy Rodgers, Nassos Stylianou & Daniel Dunford provide an in depth examination of the architectural/urban impacts (what to speak of the personal, loss of lives etc.) of the, nine months long, battle for Mosul. 1

The brutal fight to rid Mosul of so-called Islamic State has left the northern Iraqi city in ruins, thousands dead and survivors scattered far and wide. Just how much devastation was caused by the battle between Iraq’s forces - backed by US-led air strikes - and the militant group, and what will happen now?

While the battle for Mosul is over after nine months of fighting, its people are facing a humanitarian crisis on a catastrophic scale.

While UN satellite analysis suggests about 10,000 buildings have been severely damaged or completely destroyed, the real level of destruction is believed to be higher.

Taking into account damage to multiple floors of buildings, not seen via satellites, the UN now estimates the real number of damaged buildings to be more than three times greater - about 32,000.

Lise Grande, the UN’s humanitarian coordinator for Iraq, says it will take years for affected areas to return to normal.

Reconstructing the city and returning civilians to their homes will be "extremely challenging", she has warned, costing an estimated $1bn (£760m).

Building damage, October 2016 to July 2017 / Numbers based on UN satellite analysis

  • Before offensive: 135 buildings damaged (50% public, 21% homes) / Before the offensive, many public buildings were damaged - including al-Ghazlani military camp, Mosul Airport and the city's university.
  • First five months of offensive: 1,240 buildings damaged (47% homes) / Strategic targets, such as roads and factories, were hit during the first phase of the battle. All five bridges crossing the Tigris were hit. Just under half the damaged buildings were homes.
  • After eight months:4,356 buildings damaged (70% homes)/ In the three months from March to June this year, the number of buildings damaged nearly quadrupled - from 1,240 to 4,356. Seven in 10 of these were people’s homes.
  • After almost nine months: 9,519 buildings damaged (85% homes) / In the final weeks of battle, more than 5,000 sites were destroyed. About 98% of these were residential buildings - largely in the Old City. The iconic Great Mosque of al-Nuri was also destroyed.

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