Fears For Trapped Civilians In Strife-Hit Iraq, Syria
Source: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Baghdad (AFP) - Iraq's elite forces deployed around Fallujah on Saturday, marking a new phase in efforts to retake the jihadist bastion, as concern grew for trapped civilians there and in neighbouring Syria.
After almost a week of shaping operations around Fallujah, the arrival of the counter-terrorism service (CTS) signalled that an assault on the Islamic State group inside the city may be imminent.
The deployment of Iraq's best-trained and most battle-tested unit came as US-backed forces pressed simultaneous offensives against IS in both Iraq and Syria.
Abdelwahab al-Saadi, the top commander in charge of the Fallujah operation, said the CTS, police and tribal fighters had reached two camps south and east of the city.
Read more: https://www.yahoo.com/news/hundreds-people-flee-iraqs-fallujah-area-153026316.html
Fallujah: 50,000 Iraqis trapped by assault on ISIS
More than 50,000 people were trapped in Fallujah as an offensive to push the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group from the Iraqi city intensified.
Hundreds of people fled on Friday as humanitarian conditions rapidly deteriorated with Iraqi forces continuing to surround the city, determined to flush out the ISIL fighters inside.
The United Nations said nearly 800 people had escaped over the past week, but most of those from the outskirts of the city, where ISIL control was weaker.
“The situation inside Fallujah is getting critical by the day,” Nasr Muflahi, the Norwegian Refugee Council’s Iraq director, said.
Iraqi military officials insisted that safe corridors would be established to allow civilians to flee, but residents said ISIL checkpoints along the city’s main roads have made escape nearly impossible.
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http://www.independent.ae/2570/fallujah-50000-iraqis-trapped-assault-isis/
Are we all "proud" of the hell-hole we created in the ME yet???