Iraqi authorities have opened a camp in Ameriyat al-Fallujah, located about 30 kilometers, or 19 miles, from Fallujah.
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Those who managed to leave reported dire living conditions inside the city, where an estimated 50,000 civilians remain. “They are locking some families down inside the hospital building”, added al Halbusi, who did not want other information about him disclosed to protect his safety.
The absence of protesters, who have twice overrun the heart of Iraq’s government this month, would allow Abadi much-needed breathing space after the failure of his corruption reform program and his security forces’ deference towards the powerful Shia Islamic leader, Moqtadr al-Sadr, who organised the rallies.
Between 500 and 700 IS militants are in Falluja, according to a US military estimate.
Officials from Fallujah also said that civilians have been killed by shelling from forces outside the city, but the Iraqi military denies those claims.
Brown denied that move toward Falluja jeopardised the United States ability to strike in Mosul, Isis’s Iraqi capital for the last two years. “One man’s leg was amputated reportedly”.
“It’s heart-breaking that so many people need help and that we can’t do what’s necessary because we don’t have the minimum funding we require”, said Ms Grande.
“The stories coming out of Fallujah are horrifying”, said Nasr Muflah, the NRC’s Iraq director. “Holding demonstrations is a right, but that would put pressure on our forces”.
Those fighters include Iraqi federal police, Sunni tribal fighters and Shiite militia fighters under the government umbrella of the Popular Mobilization Forces.
Military officials said Fallujah, which is nearly surrounded by the military and militias, has almost cut off the extremist group from its supply and reinforcement routes. That task will go to Iraq’s elite counterterrorism forces, who say they will eventually clear it block by block.
Al-Abadi called on Iraqis to be “vigilant and cautious as they (Islamic State militants) will try to carry out crimes and massacres against civilians”.
The Iraqi central command said that government forces have regained control of the Karma town [about 16km northeastern Fallujah] after storming ISIS strongholds there. The tactic makes airstrikes more hard.
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Gruesome violence has plagued the northern and western parts of Iraq ever since Daesh Takfiris launched an offensive in the country in June 2014, and took control of portions of Iraqi territory. “The most important thing is to get the civilians out unharmed”.
