11/30/2004 Falluja, is in ruins. Most Aid workers are still being prevented from entering the city so the death toll is still unknown. A doctor told independent reporter Dahr Jamail, “During the Najaf fighting, things were not like this...There were delegations, moveable operating theaters, and plenty of help for them there which was allowed, but for Fallujah, they have done next to nothing.” There are at least 150 families trapped within the city, and the military refuses to let any of them out. While a few ambulances were allowed into one section of the city a few days ago, there are at least three main neighborhoods that the military is keeping a tight lid on. Refugees continue to report the use of napalm and phosphorous weapons-of seeing dead bodies with no bullet holes in them, just scorched patches of skin. In addition, thousands of Fallujah families fled to Baghdad prior to November’s United States-led strike on the troubled city are set to spend several more weeks in temporary accommodation with only limited amounts of aid reaching them.
Eyewitness: Farewell to Falluja | Iraq: Our Very Own Dafur | Neglect Follows Siege of Fallujah | Falluja and the laws of war

11/20/2004 Fighting raged in the rubble of Falluja. Two Marines were killed and four wounded in a guerilla ambush, military officials said. Guerillas still roam the devastated streets, sniping at American troops and scaring away military engineers brought in to try to reconstruct the city.

11/18/2004 A US marine and an Iraqi soldier were killed in sporadic fighting in Falluja Thursday as senior U.S. Marine Corps intelligence officers now admit that the Resistance will quickly "rebound from their defeat" when US troops leave.Read More
Fears grow for Falluja citizens | Refugees from Fallujah struggle just to get by | Iran's leader denounces crimes in Fallujah

11/16/2004 The US military continues to say it has taken control of Falluja, but scattered resistance remains, particularly in southern parts of the city.
On Tuesday, US forces arrested the deputy head of Iraq's interim parliament and a high-ranking member of a Sunni political party after a dawn raid on his Baghdad home. ''This action is a kind of punishment to the (Iraqi) Islamic Party because we object to what is happening in Iraq, especially Fallujah and to the security policies adopted by the Americans and the Iraqi government,'' an Islamic Party official told the press.
A top United Nations human rights official has called for an investigation of alleged abuses in Falluja including disproportionate use of force and the targeting of civilians. A high-ranking official with the Red Cross in Baghdad estimates that ”at least 800 civilians” have been killed in Falluja over the past week. Anger and unrest is growing across Iraq as people hear the stories of those who managed to escape the US attack: "We were displaced by the American bombardment. They bombed families without mercy," she said. "We went to the mosque as refugees and they sent us to this camp...I want God to make the mujahidin victorious against the American occupiers who have spared no woman or child."
Dar Al Hayat: Concealing the Truth about Fallujah | Collective punishment is escalating in Iraq

11/15/2004 Fighting continues in Falluja and as well as many other cities in Iraq. Aid convoys are still barred from Falluja as Amnesty International and the Council on American-Islamic Relations warn that US actions constitute war crimes. Falluja had a pre-attack population of 350,000, most of whom are now either refugees, starving in the ruins of collapsed buildings or dead.
An NBC reporter embedded with the US troops in Falluja caught on tape an unfortunately common example of US disregard for human life in the city. In the footage, "NBC correspondent Kevin Sites said that the five wounded Iraqi fighters had been left in the mosque after Marines had fought their way into that part of the city on Friday and Saturday....Instead of being passed to the rear lines for treatment the wounded Iraqis were left in the mosque until a second group of Marines entered the building... Sites said that at this point one of the five Iraqis was dead and that three of the others appeared to be close to death." One of the Marines noticed that one of the severely wounded men was still breathing. He did not appear to be armed, Sites said. The Marine could be heard insisting: “He’s f---ing faking he’s dead — he’s faking he’s f---ing dead.” Sites then watched as the Marine raised his rifle and fired into the man’s head from point-blank range. "Well, he’s dead now,” another Marine said.
Fallujah: Murder Made Respectable | Dogs Eating Bodies in the Streets of Fallujah | Crimes in Iraq: Pray for Fallujah | Iraqi Doctor tells of hospital nightmare | Mosul revolt spreads to town near Syria

11/14/2004 The U.S. military now brags of killing over 1,200 people in Falluja since the the assault was launched late Monday. While the US has already claimed victory it is not clear what this means since rebels continue to resist in Falluja and many more have escaped and are fighting the US in other cities across Iraq. US military chiefs claim there are no civilians left alive in Falluja and continue to refuse to let the Iraqi Red Crescent deliver aid. Reporters and refugees describe a situation of utter devastation; Bodies lie in the streets, homes and mosques lie in ruins, and power and telephone lines are down. An AP Reporter who had wanted to stay in Falluja to cover the US attack describes dodging gunfire as he tried to reach the river to escape when it became apparent that nobody in Falluja was safe. ``I decided to swim ... but I changed my mind after seeing U.S. helicopters firing on and killing people who tried to cross the river.'' He watched horrified as a family of five was shot dead as they tried to cross. Then, he ``helped bury a man by the river bank, with my own hands.'' A Fallujan refugee interviewed by Dahr Jamail described horrific scenes in the city, houses that had been razed by countless US air strikes and the stench of decaying bodies;“So many people could not leave because they had nowhere to go, and no money.”
Iraqi Shia leaders condemn Falluja attack | Falluja and the Erosion of American Power | Pictures from Falluja | Iraq vote could be delayed

11/13/2004 The US has declared "mission accomplished" in Falluja, with over 1000 people killed and tens of thousands of residents trapped without food or water, still afraid to venture outside for fear of US snipers and continuing gunfire. The city smells of explosives and decaying flesh and the civilian cost of the US assault on Falluja is only beginning to emerge. While an Iraqi Red Crescent aid convoy was allowed to enter Falluja they were only allowed to visit the main hospital and were not allowed to distribute aid to those in the city or the refugee camps that have sprung up around the city's outskirts. "They are dying of starvation and a lack of water, especially the children," a Red Crescent spokeswoman said.
Resistance fighters claim to still control portions of Faluja, but much of the fighting has moved to Mosul. Mosul is a largely Sunni Arab city of one million people but is up north near the Kurdish areas. Most of the remaining Iraqi troops fighting with the US in Mosul are Kurds and there are signs that the Iraqi Resistance is engaging in revenge attacks against Kurdish targets in the city. Kurdish officals claim the "police in the city are co-operating with the Resistance"
Fallujah: ‘It’s Like Hell’ | Anger at Fallujah assault in Baghdad mosques | Eyewitness: Ghost city calls for help | When the smoke has cleared around Fallujah, what horrors will be revealed? | Dahr Jamail: “Iraq is burning with wrath, anger and sadness…”

11/12/2004 The mass killing of Iraqis by US troops continues in Falluja. Resistance attacks have spread across the war-torn country to alleviate the pressure on Falluja.
Aid agencies say they are increasingly concerned about Iraqi civilians trapped in the besieged rebel city of Falluja. "We call on the Iraqi government and US forces to allow us to do our humanitarian duty to the innocent people," said Firdoos al-Ubadi, Red Crescent spokeswoman. "There is no water, no food, no medicine, no electricity and no fuel and when we asked for permission, we were only allowed to approach the Fallujah outskirts but had no access to Fallujah itself," Ms al-Ubaidi said.
Naomi Klein: Die, then vote. This is Falluja | Seeking Salvation In City of Insurgents | Eyewitness: Smoke and corpses

11/11/2004: Two U.S. helicopters were shot down near Fallujah and the Iraqi Resitance took control of much of the Northern Iraqi city of Mosul. Clashes also broke out in the oil center of Baiji in northern Iraq. A Car bomb exploded near Kirkuk and a series of car bombs killed many in Baghdad. Fighting in Falluja has created a humanitarian disaster in which innocent people are dying because medical help cannot reach them.
As the US military brags about massacring over 600 people in Falluja little real news is able to make its way out of the city. Aside from embedded reporters whose coverage has been highly regulated by the US military, Fadhil Badrani is one of the only reporters in Falluja who has been able to get reports out to the Western press. Coverage could get even worse as Iraq's media regulator has warned news organisations to stick to the government line on the US-led attack in Falluja or face legal action.
Prayers for Vengeance, More Death... | Iraq press attacks Falluja assault | Rumsfeld: El Salvador Can Be Iraq Model

11/10/2004: U.S. artillery have been firing white phosphorous rounds into Fallujah neighborhoods, creating a screen of fire which melts skin and cannot be extinguished with water. Almost half of the mosques in Falluja have been destroyed so far in the US raid. As the US massacres civilians in Falluja, medicine and food is scarce for trapped civilians. The Red Cross fears for wounded in Falluja who have no way of being treated. Meanwhile, members of Iraqi Prime Minister Allawi's family have been abducted and hundreds of armed men control much of Ramadi and briefly took over over a major bridge in Baghdad.
Falluja Eyewitness: Defiance amid carnage | Mid-East press anger at Falluja assault | Hidden tragedies in helpless city | Hidden tragedies in helpless city

11/09/2004: Scores of civilians and over ten US troops have been killed in Falluja during the second day of fighting. Iraq's official Sunni Muslim political party has quit the US-backed government in protest.
In pictures: inside Falluja | Dahr Jamail: The Fire is Spreading…

11/08/2004: The US ground assault on Falluja has begun. At least 200 Iraqi troops had deserted their posts in the American-led offensive. Marine commanders have warned the new offensive could bring the heaviest urban fighting for US forces since the Vietnam War. An influential Iraqi Muslim group has urged Iraqi security forces not to fight with US troops "We call on the Iraqi forces, the National Guard and others ... to beware of making the grave mistake of invading Iraqi cities under the banner of forces who respect no religion or human right ... Beware of being deceived that you are fighting terrorists from outside the country, because by God you are fighting the townspeople and targeting its men, women and children and history will record every drop of blood you spill in oppressing the people of your nation".
Eyewitness: Taking cover in Falluja | Democracy Now | Residents speak of hostility to US action

11/07/2004 Iraq declares state of emergency amid rising violence. Prominent Saudi religious scholars have called on Iraqis to support fighters battling US-led forces, saying fighting the presence of foreign troops is a duty and a right.
Religious, Clannish Fallujah Symbol of Resistance | Bombs Rain on Fallujah Turn Samarra into a Blood Pool | Saudi Scholars Say Resistance in Iraq Is Jihad | Dahr Jamail: Carnage and Martial Law | Falluja: Screams will not be heard | Democracy irrigated with carnage! | Iraq Is an All-opportunity Meat Grinder | Revolutionary Worker | Rahul Mahajan: Fallujah and the Reality of War

11/06/2004: A hospital has been razed to the ground in one of the heaviest US air raids in the Iraqi city of Falluja.

11/5/2004: Falluja is now shut off from the outside world; the U.S. military has blocked roads and have warned they will "arrest any man under the age of 45 found trying to leave or enter the city". A ground assualt on Falluja and Ramadi is expected within days.
Resistance fighters in Ramadi have been reinforcing their positions and stockpiling food and water, but civilians in Falluja are worried that they could quickly run out of food due to the US blockade. While some Fallujans have abandoned their city expecting post-election destruction, over 100,000 residents remain. Kofi Annan has warned the US and Britian about the humanitarian disaster that could come with a military assault.
The assault on Falluja appears to have been timed to come after the US election, due to a fear by Bush that high US casualties could have hurt his re-election chances. While both political parties in the US spoke in support of an attack on Falluja, the Bush election victory has worried many Iraqis since it seems to provide a popular mandate for Bush's policies in the region.

One difference between the looming assualt on Falluja and the assault last April will be the participation of British troops. In October, it was announced that British troops would be moved to provide support for the US during a Falluja assault. There was immediate outrage in Britain as many saw it as a political move by Blair to help Bush in his re-election. Former Foreign Secretary Robin Cook criticized the move, saying that British troops would be tarred by association with US methods. Families of the troops also denounced the move but were silenced as soldiers were ordered to "tell their wives and relatives to stop criticising the Government".
The fears of military families were quickly confirmed as attacks on British troops increased as the redeployment started. On November 3rd, 3 British troops were killed in an ambush. The brother of one of the killed soldiers expressed anger over the regiment's redeployment saying that his brother "didn't think he should be there because the regiment has already done their time over there" Asked what his brother thought about George Bush and the war, he replied: "He just thought he was an arsehole for starting a war over nothing, trying to get money and oil."

Past Indybay Falluja Coverage 11/1/2004 | 8/5/2004 | 5/5/2005 | 4/25/2004 | 4/15/2004 | 4/11/2004
Rahul Mahajan | Prayers and tears in Falluja | MSF Withdraws Aid Workers From Iraq | Message From The People Of Fallujah | An Open Letter to British Troops Serving in Iraq