By Ruptly
Iraqi children are forced to sell pieces of scrap metal scavenged from the ruins of Mosul's Old City, in order to provide for their families and themselves.
Video footage from Mosul on Saturday, shows how young merchants dressed in plastic raincoats collect different kinds of scrap metal - railings, crumpled corrugated iron and empty oil barrels.
According to one of the locals, Abu Ahmed: "we can’t make sure of how to support our families. We thought it would be easier after the liberation of the city. Now, nobody shows up to ask about our needs."
Ahmed stated that the Iraqi government is failing to adequately support the rebuilding of the city.
"You see potholes everywhere, the dead corpses are still under rubble. The aid is stolen by the local government officials. They are corrupt people," he added.
The merchants reportedly receive around 5,000 Iraqi dinars ($4) per 100kg of scrap metal they collect.
Mosul, one of Iraq's largest cities, was badly destroyed by the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS; formerly ISIS/ISIL), after they took control in June 2014. The city was recaptured by Iraqi government forces in July 2017 after a nine-month long final battle.
The heaviest fighting took place in the Old City, leaving thousands of buildings, including its old churches and monasteries, in ruins.