The Association of Muslim Scholars of Iraq, a militant Sunni organization formed in 2003, denounced the new offensive against Fallujah as “an unjust aggression, a reflection of the vengeful spirit that the forces of evil harbor against the city”.
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At least 21 civilians were reported killed in the US-led bombardment of Fallujah on Monday and Tuesday.
Soldiers drive an armored vehicle to the frontline on the outskirts of Fallujah in Iraq’s western Anbar province, on May 25, 2016. Shiite militias are also present as part of the operation, but have publicly stated that they will remain outside the city, easing concerns about retaliation from the Sunni-majority population.
The Islamic State militant group is preventing people from fleeing Fallujah amid a military operation to recapture the city west of Baghdad, a local Iraqi official and aid groups said on Wednesday.
An Iraqi government spokesman did not confirm Soleimani’s visit and stressed that Iranian advisors are present in Iraq in order to assist in the war on Islamic State (IS) in the same capacity as those of the US -led anti-IS coalition. “One man’s leg was amputated reportedly”.
While many in Fallujah welcomed the takeover of the city by the Sunni-led Islamic State group as an alternative to what they considered their marginalization at the hands of Iraq’s leaders, humanitarian conditions in the city have deteriorated under the extremists.
After the US -led invasion in 2003 toppled Saddam Hussein, the city’s 250,000 residents initially supported a Sunni insurgency that rose up against USA forces and the Shiite-dominated government in Baghdad. The demonstrations were sparked by then-Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s increasingly sectarian rule that many Sunnis felt had left them without a voice. On the second occasion, on May 20, security forces repulsed the protesters with live fire, killing four and wounding hundreds.
The Islamic State had prevented civilians from leaving the city of Fallujah as the Iraqi army prepares to invade, but is now allowing some of them to leave, so long as they pay a ,500 exit fee. Ramadi, that once had a population of 400,000, is still mostly uninhabited with 70 per cent of its buildings in ruins and only 15 per cent of its people able to return.
“We have secured safe passage for (some) residents”, said Rajaa Barakat, a member of the provincial council of Anbar province. “Groups of Isis fighters are saying they will kill anybody in Fallujah who leaves their house or waves a white flag”, says Ahmed al-Dulaimi, a political activist who spoke by phone to relatives and friends in the city.
The assault is being carried out by a combined force comprising thousands of Iraqi army troops, the federal police and Sunni tribal fighters, Col Warren said.
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Booby-trapped explosives and large numbers of civilians unable to escape are expected to complicate operations moving forward, al-Saadi said.
