That cut off ISIS fighters in Fallujah from one of their last support areas and paved the way for more advances towards the city, which lies 50km west of Baghdad.
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“There is also the fear of being killed for attempting to flee”, Abdullah said, explaining that multiple families said IS is threatening residents with death if they attempt to flee.
The Baghdad government has called on civilians to flee, opening safe corridors to southern areas, but roadside bombs have prevented many from leaving.
“The armed forces and the courageous fighters, their duty is to protect civilians from this terrorism, from random killing, from torture”, al-Abadi said.
“Also the families are hesitating to take these exits… because they’re afraid of what’s waiting for them on the other side, which are the popular mobilization forces”, Halbusi said, referring to the Shiite militias now arrayed outside the city.
Another mother told the NRC there was little left to eat in the besieged city: “We have survived for months on just dates and by drinking water from the river”.
Iraqi security forces have spent the better part of a year trying to retake Karma from the terror group, suffering heavy losses.
“We are receiving distressing reports of civilians trapped inside Falluja who are desperate to escape to safety, but can’t”, Lise Grande, the U.N.’s humanitarian coordinator for Iraq, warned in a statement Wednesday.
Government officials recently estimated 10,000 families were in the city, the United Nations refugee agency said Tuesday.
The US-led coalition “is providing air power to support the Iraqi government forces in Fallujah”, said spokesman, US Army Col Steve Warren. Iraqi authorities have already established camps in Ameriyat al Falluja, 30 kilometres south of Fallujah, to house people who may displace. The city has been under siege for nearly six months, and little or no aid has gone in. Sunni leaders have been critical of Abadi’s Shiite-dominated government, saying food shortages in the city have led to starvation.
“Fierce fighting is now raging around the city”, Save the Children’s statement said, reporting that only 700 people including 400 children had managed to escape as of Tuesday.
U.S. Central Command did not immediately respond to a request for information on what steps U.S. forces are taking to ensure the safety of Iraqi civilians trapped in the ISIS-held city.
Up to 100,000 people have remained in the city, according to USA and Iraqi government estimates.
Footage of ground clashes was released by both Iraqi government and ISIS-aligned media sources Monday.
“The enemy is completely collapsing, our troops’ morale is very high, due to their victories and we believe that the battle of Falluja will be finished soon”, he said.
Hashid Shaabi will take part in encircling Falluja but will not enter the city unless the Iraqi army fails in doing so, said Hadi al-Amiri, the leader of the Badr Organisation, the largest component of the Shi’ite coalition.
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Iraq’s Academy for Sunni Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) on Wednesday announced its rejection of what it described as the “policy of collective punishment” being carried out against the people of Fallujah during ongoing military operations to retake the city from the Islamic State group.
