COWLEY-BASED charity Oxfam is urging people to support their efforts to rebuild the lives of residents in war-torn Iraq.

One year after Mosul was retaken from ISIS, thousands of people are still unable to return home as parts of the city remain severely damaged and lack running water or electricity, the charity has warned.

Thousands more don’t feel safe to return - including families whose houses have been completely destroyed in the fighting or are still to be cleared of unexploded bombs.

Across the country more than two million people have yet to return to their homes, Oxfam revealed.

The Old City of Mosul was extensively damaged in the last days of fighting and was left littered with unexploded bombs. More than 3,000 houses, schools and shops were destroyed and water networks damaged. Today it remains one of the last areas in the city without running water.

Andres Gonzalez, Oxfam’s country director in Iraq said: “Reconstruction has started but rebuilding Iraq’s second largest city will take time.We need to prioritise the most vulnerable people who lost everything.”

Oxfam is working in the Old City fixing the damaged pipelines, repairing pumping stations, and providing pipes and machinery to bring running water.