Some 433,000 people have escaped from Mosul as security forces attempt to retake the city from ISIL, the Iraqi government reported. But both the government and international aid organizations are struggling to know where to re-house those who have fled. CGTN's Tony Cheng has this report from Mosul. 

Some refugees have no choice but to go back to west Mosul because camps for those displaced by the fighting are full. 

“It's very crowded with people and kids, too crowded in the camp at Hamman Al Alil,” said Saddam Alyas Abullah Mahmoud, resident of Wadi al-Hajar district, west Mosul.  

It looks ordered and well controlled from the air at the camp at Khazer, which is home to 40,000 displaced residents of Mosul since fighting started last year. But on the ground, it is bustling with people and tense. 

Traumatized by fighting inside the city, most people here are now struggling to find comfort, packed into tents, with food in short supply. The Kurdish authorities responsible for the camp are doing their best but they have to stay on their guard. 

Security is a major concern in camps like this, with the fear that with the hundreds of thousands of people who have fled the fighting in Mosul in the past few weeks, sympathizers and fighters have secreted themselves in.

Just outside Mosul the rush is on to complete another massive camp at Hamman Al Alil. 

Iraqi authorities have criticized the UN for not responding fast enough, but building homes for 50,000 people can't be done overnight. Ten thousand places will be ready at the end of the week, and the rest within 25 days. There will also be long-term facilities, such as schools, medical centers, and recreational amenities. 

The Iraqi government is predicting they can reclaim Mosul within a month. But residents living in the camps may find that when they go back, there will  be little left of their homes.