Just two days after President Barack Obama deployed 130 military advisers to northern Iraq to assess an unfolding situation regarding an estimated 40,000 civilian Yazidis who had taken refuge on Mount Sinjar, Obama has said that a rescue mission will probably not be necessary and additional humanitarian airdrops will most likely not be needed, according to a statement from the White House.
A successful effort
According to Obama, U.S. military humanitarian airdrops managed to deliver over 114,000 meals and 35,000 gallons of water to Yazidis atop Mount Sinjar. U.S. forces were joined in the effort by United Kingdom forces and other allies, and airdrops were made on a nightly basis. The Iraqi civilians – who managed to escape dangerous Islamic State of Iraq and Levant forces – may have dehydrated and starved atop Mount Sinjar without the aid.
Not only that, but Obama stated that military strikes managed to break ISIL forces' hold of the area.
"Our military was able to successfully strike ISIL targets around the mountain, which improved conditions for civilians to evacuate the mountain safely," Obama said.
Fewer civilians than expected
Whereas some believed tens of thousands of civilian refugees may have been stranded on Mount Sinjar – NPR reporter Tom Bowman reported there were estimates of around 40,000 Yazidis stuck on the summit – American military advisers found far fewer civilians on the mountain. Military Times reported a U.S. military and civilian team found there were close to 4,000 Iraqi civilians on Mount Sinjar.
Supposedly, there were so few civilians compared to previous estimates because the U.S. military measures earlier this week allowed civilians to escape the mountain after dark, according to Obama. Now, the remaining civilian groups will be aided by friendly ground forces to facilitate safe evacuations.
"The civilians who remain continue to leave, aided by Kurdish forces and Yazidis who are helping to facilitate the safe passage of their families. So the bottom line is, is that the situation on the mountain has greatly improved and Americans should be very proud of our efforts," Obama said.
Looking forward, the president warned that the situation is not over for Iraqi civilians or defensive forces yet. ISIL forces still threaten much of the Iraqi populace and American support is still necessary.
"We will continue air strikes to protect our people and facilities in Iraq. We have increased the delivery of military assistance to Iraqi and Kurdish forces fighting ISIL on the front lines," Obama said.