Ramadi- With the growing fears of a humanitarian catastrophe in Fallujah and risks of mass death, which threatens more than 105 thousand besieged and starved citizen inside the city, government forces’ aerial and artillery bombardments continue over the crowded neighborhoods.
Fallujah citizens, who are trapped from all sides by ISIS militants and government forces, are dying from hunger and crimes amidst strange governmental silence.
Raja Barakat, member of the Anbar province Security Committee, told Asharq Al-Awsat, “The catastrophic and tragic situation in Fallujah has become a main concern for the world public opinion, yet the Iraqi government is not acting to solve this crisis, which is causing deaths of tens of civilians, despite our calls and demands.
“We were talking and negotiating ways to deliver food to the besieged citizens in Fallujah, and we asked the government to air-drop aid as food and medical supplies were expected to arrive from Saudi Arabia and from other humanitarian countries and organizations soon.
“However, we were shocked by the aerial bombardment over the city using explosive barrels and killing more than 50 civilians, including women and children,” Barakat added.
“This brutal bombardment was the response for our requests to help people who are facing genocide due to their heroic stances and resistance,” he also told Asharq Al-Awsat.
“Some families that are besieged in Fallujah decided to commit suicide, some corpses were salvaged from Euphrates River, and tens of people died after eating grass. More than 90 people died last week while five women committed suicide for not being able to feed their children. This is why we formed a delegation from members of the Anbar province Security Committee and tribal figures to visit the U.S. embassy in Baghdad and represent the catastrophic humanitarian situation in
the city in order for the UN forces to intervene and save people there,” Raja Barakat stated.
He also confirmed that the aid, which will be sent from different countries and organizations to save Fallujah citizens, will definitely be left in the central government’s warehouses to rot, just like the ones sent before, and will not be delivered to Fallujah besieged citizens.
For his part, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Anbar province, Faleh al-Issawi, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Fallujah is because of ISIS, which is controlling the city from all its outskirts and forbidding its citizens from going out or crossing the safe corridors that were provided by the security forces.
He confirmed that helping Fallujah citizens is a difficult task as the people besieged in the city exceed 100 thousands. Intensive sorties are required, however, this is kind of impossible since ISIS militants will target these planes, which will have to fly at low attitude, thus putting the crew’s life in danger.