More than 180,000 people have fled west Mosul as Iraqi forces continue to advance inside the city, the Iraqi government said Monday (March 20th).

Some 111,000 have sought shelter in 17 nearby camps and reception centres while many others have stayed with relatives, the Ministry of Displacement and Migration said.

The Iraqi government says it can accommodate a further 100,000 displaced people in camps, but the UN warns that the numbers could rise way beyond that.

"Humanitarian agencies are bracing for the possibility that an additional 300,000-320,000 civilians may flee in coming weeks," the UN's aid co-ordination agency OCHA said, according to AFP.

On Sunday, Iraqi forces recaptured Nablus district from the "Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant" (ISIL) and raised the Iraqi flag on its buildings, the Ninawa Operations Command said in a statement.

Joint forces have also surrounded Bab al-Baid in central Mosul, trapping ISIL fighters inside and forcing many to surrender, Joint Operations Command spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Rasul told Diyaruna.

"Iraqi forces hope to complete the liberation of the last neighbourhood in the city in the coming two weeks if weather conditions continue to be stable," he added.