Iraqi Children Show Signs Of 'Toxic Stress' After Fleeing Mosul

Iraqi children who managed to flee Mosul and escape the Islamic State (IS) have been left psychologically damaged by the extremist regime's rule, a charity has warned.

Save the Children (StC) said youngsters who have escaped from the northern Iraq city faced lifelong mental health damage, showing signs of "toxic stress", where the mind is constantly in "fight or flight" mode.

Dr Marcia Brophy, Save the Children's senior mental health adviser for the Middle East, said that what was striking is how introverted and withdrawn children have become:

"They rarely even smiled. It was as though they had lost the ability to be children."

"When we asked them what they liked about themselves, children often said things like 'I'm quiet', 'I stay in a safe place' or 'I obey orders'.

"Their time under ISIS, and making a life-or-death escape, has taken a truly terrible toll."

US-led government forces are currently engaged in the final push of an offensive that started last October to remove the Islamic extremist insurgency from Mosul, a former stronghold.

Reports from Mosul have said that women and children fleeing the city have been wounded by shrapnel from artillery fire and air strikes.

StC said that 90% of youngsters it spoke to had lost at least one family member to death, separation or abduction, with some numbed and left "robotic".

The majority of the 65 children interviewed said they were unable to sleep or had nightmares, sometimes so bad they were "haunted" during the day.

One 11-year-old girl, using the name pseudonym Sara, told how her 14-year-old brother's body lay outside their home for a day after he was murdered by an IS sniper for helping the Iraqi army.

The girl, now living in the Hamam al Alil camp for displaced people, said that "when someone scares me, I freeze". She said:

"When I get scared, my heart beats so strong, and [I] feel like... I sweat like this, I just can't stand it."

"I can't even walk. When my brother died, I passed out. I felt my soul squeezed so hard. 

"And I couldn't sleep the whole night. I would see him in front of me, my brother, killed."

Ana Locsin, the charity's Iraq country director, said that children escaping Mosul have gone through "horror piled upon horror":

"Life-saving aid like shelter, food and water are crucial in this crisis - but to help children recover and rebuild after their ordeals, psychological support must be considered a priority.

"The world must do more to repair the damage."