“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 mobilisation forces”, Mr Halbusi said, referring to the Shiite militias now arrayed outside the city.
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They are also struggling to survive amid the random airstrikes by the Iraqi forces.
Warren said ISIS will do what it can to prevent large numbers of civilians from fleeing the city because their standard practice is to use local populations as human shields.
During the past few months, the army, security forces and allied paramilitary forces carried out operations around Mosul and Fallujah to tighten the grip on the besieged city and nearby towns in order to free them from IS militants.
The U.S. -led coalition has increased the number of airstrikes around Fallujah over the past week, Air Force Lt. Gen Charles Brown said Thursday.
“They were shot dead in central Fallujah after an ISIS officer read a statement, vowing that any fighter who would desert his fighting position will face the same punishment”, the source reported.
Rights groups have expressed concerns for the tens of thousands of civilians estimated to still be in the city, which has been in IS hands for more than two years.
Grande said that those who managed to flee told of a dire situation inside the city, which lies only 50 kilometres (30 miles) west of the capital Baghdad.
Warren said it’s important this Memorial Day to remember the three Americans who lost their lives supporting Operation Inherent Resolve: Army Master Sgt. Joshua Wheeler, Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Louis Cardin and Navy Chief Petty Officer Charles Keating IV.
Falluja is a bastion of the insurgency that fought the United States occupation of Iraq and the Shia-led authorities that replaced Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, a Sunni.
On Sunday, the Iraqi government deployed at least 20,000 troops to combat extremists in Daesh-held city of Fallujah. People are finding stale or rotten dates, drying them in the sun and eating them.
USA artillery batteries at a nearby base have lobbed shells onto Islamic State positions, and more than 20 airstrikes in and around the city have killed 70 fighters, Warren said.
Notably, Grande is the U.N.’s humanitarian coordinator for Iraq.
IS “gave us food that only animals would eat”, Umm Omar, who was accompanied by more than 10 members of her family, said.
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“We are now hearing reports of contaminated water being used for drinking, while entire neighbourhoods are being displaced within the battle zone with no safe way out”, Muflahi said.
