Mosul residents cower in their homes beneath the bombardment – but fear sectarian violence from Shia militias once the besieged city is liberated from Isis

As Iraqi security forces and Kurdish fighters closed in on Mosul, its residents cowered in their homes and braced for what is likely to be an gruelling street battle.

“Everyone is staying at home because we don’t know what else to do. Daesh [another name for Islamic State] are mostly moving around on motorbike and have small and heavy guns. The planes started bombing Mosul around 1am today and they are in the sky constantly and occasionally striking targets,” Abu Mohammed, a 35-year-old from the east side of the city told the Guardian.

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Mohammed is not his real name. He is a Shia who has survived the past two years under Islamic State (Isis) control by passing himself off as Sunni.

He said he thought the airstrikes were mostly precisely targeted on Isis but added: “Daesh are moving into civilian houses and mixing with the population. For example Daesh has placed a large depot of IEDs [improvised explosive devices] in a house next to my cousin’s house. I begged him to leave his house and bring his family to stay with me as the house could be targeted by coalition. He refused and said: ‘Whatever destiny brings.’”

“People have had enough in Mosul, the majority want Daesh to go as soon as possible and would like to see the Iraqi army and peshmerga enter the city,” he said.

“We have seen too many beheadings, people being drowned in cages, thrown from top of buildings ... I myself saw a man thrown off a building near the governor’s office around three months ago. I couldn’t sleep for a week afterwards.”

US aircraft have begun dropping 7m leaflets over the city, urging civilians to stay in their homes and giving advice on how to protect themselves from flying glass and comfort their children when the bombs drop. It advised residents not to attempt to flee. That would be almost impossible anyway, Mohammed said.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Peshmerga forces walk in the east of Mosul during operation to liberate the city from Isis. Photograph: Azad Lashkari/Reuters

“It is difficult for civilians to leave the city because a ditch has been dug around many neighbourhoods in the city, especially the area east of the city,” he said.

People smugglers have raised their prices to astronomical sums and Isis was reported to be summarily executing anyone its fighters find trying to escape the city of a million people.

Abu Sabra, 22, said Isis militants were burning tyres in the centre of town to try to obscure their strongholds from the coalition aircraft above. He said they had lined up shipping containers along the main streets, though it was unclear what purpose they served.

“There is no money and even though the food is cheap we can not buy it. This evening we only had fried potatoes,” Sabra said. “Anyone who tries to flee, is shot dead.”

However, he added that some residents are ready to rise up against Isis when the time is right.

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“I can see signs that people want to resist Daesh because they have had enough. In my neighborhood, some people openly use their mobile phones which is forbidden,” Sabra said. “Others who still have their guns hidden are preparing to join the peshmerga or the Iraqi army when they enter the city to fight Daesh.”

Khalaf al-Hadidi, a member of Mosul’s city council who now lives in the Kurdish stronghold of Irbil, said the council was doing what it can to advise the coalition on where there are heavily populated areas to be avoided in planning airstrikes. It is also helping set up camps to help people displaced by the fighting. Hadidi’s greatest fear was that Shia militias might carry out sectarian reprisals on the local people after the city is liberated from Isis.

Hadidi added that the council adopted a decision, which it passed to the Iraqi government, to oppose the participation of Shia militias in the mission to retake Mosul. “We do not want to go back to the time of sectarian war and killing civilians. The involvement of Shia militias would have hurt morale,” he said.

Fawaz Ali, an engineer from Mosul who now lives in Turkey, said his relatives still trapped in Mosul were also worried about the prospect of Shia militias entering the city.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Smoke rises after a suicide bomb attack against Kurdish forces near Mosul. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

“My family contacted me to say: ‘Look, we can’t call you any more, all mobiles are monitored by Isis. We just want to let you know that we are OK and Mosul centre is quiet. All the people are staying indoors in fear of bombardment by US jets against the city,” Ali said.

“People are scared of the aftermath of Mosul liberation and that the result will be Shia militia and Iraqi army taking the city, who [may] detain people although they are innocent, accusing them of being Isis supporters … The locals believe that peshmerga is better than Shia militia because they are not sectarian.”

Abu Firas, a father of five and a secondary schoolteacher from Telafer, west of Mosul, fled seven months ago and is also in Turkey waiting for the chance to return.

“I still have three brothers in Mosul with their families, they said that the battle is still at the suburbs of Mosul. They could not flee because they could not afford the cost of traveling to Turkey. Besides it is very risky. If Isis militants get hold of anyone fleeing, they will execute him immediately. I paid more than $2,000 (£1640) to flee with the help of a smuggler who took us to Syria and then to Turkey,” Firas said.

“I will get back to Mosul as soon as it is liberated. Only God knows how long the battle will last because Isis won’t give up easily. They have been reinforcing their forces to be ready for the attack. They will not hand over Mosul easily,” he said. “I will get back to my home, even if Shia militia take the city. I do not care any more, I prefer to die in my home and not to be a refugee. I will never repeat this mistake again.”