top
Iraq
Iraq
Indybay
Indybay
Indybay
Regions
Indybay Regions North Coast Central Valley North Bay East Bay South Bay San Francisco Peninsula Santa Cruz IMC - Independent Media Center for the Monterey Bay Area North Coast Central Valley North Bay East Bay South Bay San Francisco Peninsula Santa Cruz IMC - Independent Media Center for the Monterey Bay Area California United States International Americas Haiti Iraq Palestine Afghanistan
Topics
Newswire
Features
From the Open-Publishing Calendar
From the Open-Publishing Newswire
Indybay Feature

Fears grow for Falluja citizens

by BBC (reposted)
The Red Cross says it has serious concerns about the plight of civilians in the Iraqi city of Falluja.

It has called for an independent assessment of conditions in Falluja, where there is still no electricity or tap water.

...
Conditions in Falluja are said to be desperate, after months in which militants held the city, and the US first bombarded what it called rebel positions, then invaded.


We simply cannot enter the city under such ferocious fighting
ICRC spokesman Ahmed Rawi

An ICRC spokesman told BBC News that Falluja's main hospital, on the outskirts of the city, had been freshly stocked with medical equipment, but that wounded people could not get there.

"The first concern we have is over the safety of the people in Falluja," Ahmed Rawi said.

"We simply cannot enter the city under such ferocious fighting."

He said the ICRC was negotiating with US forces to open a "humanitarian corridor" into the city.

The BBC's Jennifer Glasse, with US marines in Falluja, says tough battles are still being fought in the city's southern neighbourhoods.

She says marines are calling in aerial bombing raids to hit houses where insurgents are holed up, refusing to surrender.

The marines' commander says at least 55 insurgents were killed on Wednesday.

In nearby Ramadi, US forces were said to have fought a three-hour gun battle overnight, in which at least seven people were reported killed.

Several people were killed in a day of violence across Iraq on Wednesday, including at least 14 Iraqis who died in a suicide bombing in the town of Baiji, north of Baghdad.

The supreme leader of neighbouring Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on Thursday condemned "the massacre of civilians, women and children... the execution of wounded, the destruction of homes [and] mosques" by "infidels" in Falluja.

More
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4021629.stm
Add Your Comments
Listed below are the latest comments about this post.
These comments are submitted anonymously by website visitors.
TITLE
AUTHOR
DATE
BBC (reposted)
Thu, Nov 18, 2004 10:37AM
We are 100% volunteer and depend on your participation to sustain our efforts!

Donate

$230.00 donated
in the past month

Get Involved

If you'd like to help with maintaining or developing the website, contact us.

Publish

Publish your stories and upcoming events on Indybay.

IMC Network