TV show gives glimpse into Mosul

Civilians in besieged city take to the airwaves to describe life and 'inhumane treatment' under IS

As evening approaches in Iraq's northern city of Irbil, TV presenter Bakr Mahmoud Mahdi prepares to go live with a show called Freedom Studio.

His callers - and there have been fewer of them lately - are civilians living inside the city of Mosul, Iraq's second-largest, and describing what life is like under the rule of the Islamic State group.

On a recent broadcast, a woman who identified herself as Umm Nour called in from Mosul.

"God willing there isn't a lot left and I hope that the watchers can pray for those inside Mosul to overcome Daesh," she said, using the Arabic-language acronym for the group. Most of the other callers dial in to complain about life under IS rule, Mahdi says.

"There is a crisis in terms of food supply, there is a fuel crisis and there is a crisis in the inhumane way the Daesh thugs treat the people of Mosul," he said.

Multiple call-in shows like Mahdi's have been providing a rare line of communication for some of the estimated 1 million people still living in the group's last urban bastion in Iraq. Now, as Iraqi forces push closer and the militants begin enforcing a ban on phones and the internet, those voices from inside Mosul are starting to fall silent.

"This program is like a breath of fresh air for the families of Nineveh," he said, referring to the province that contains Mosul. "Through it they can call and through it the families who are trapped in Nineveh can give news to those who are displaced and vice versa."

The show's channel, the private Nineveh TV, opened in 2013 and has been airing several such shows per day. Mahdi said his broadcasts can also be viewed inside Mosul, giving residents a taste of the outside world.

Mahdi usually goes from one phone call to another very quickly, giving words of encouragement to those calling in. On average he gets about 90 calls during each two-hour show.

Mahdi, who is from Ramadi, said he can empathize with the caller's struggles since he has been through it himself in his own city. Ramadi was freed from IS militants earlier in the year.

While the show receives callers from inside Mosul, which has been under IS rule for more than two years, those numbers have started to drop because of harsh punishment by the extremists.

On a recent day, most callers were displaced people from Mosul who wanted to send messages of hope to those trapped in the city.

There was also a lot of praise for the Iraqi and Kurdish forces who are closing in on the city.

One displaced resident, identifying himself as Salah, said he wanted to send a message to his family still there.

"I want to tell the families in Nineveh that we are coming to save you from these Daesh thugs," he said. "We are fighting against criminals. We are coming for you."