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Sunday, May 22, 2016, Jaistha 8, 1423 BS, Shaban 14, 1437 Hijri


Falluja civilians warned before raid on IS-held city
Observer Online Desk
Published :Sunday, 22 May, 2016,  Time : 9:44 PM  View Count : 42
Iraq's military has warned civilians to leave Falluja as it prepares an assault on the city held by the so-called Islamic State (IS).

Falluja was the first city to fall to the group in January 2014, and is one of only two of its remaining strongholds in Iraq.

Iraq's military told state television said those who could not flee should raise a white flag above their homes.

The military, police and volunteer fighters virtually surround the city.

The Baghdad-based pro-Kurdish news website Shafaq said on Sunday that close to 20,000 police troops had arrived on the outskirts of Falluja ahead of the expected assault.

The BBC's Middle East correspondent, Jim Muir, said some 16,000 civilians remained in Falluja, which is about 50km (30 miles) west of Baghdad. Many of them are family members of IS fighters, he said.

IS militants launched a sweeping offensive in June 2014 that overran large areas north and west of Baghdad, but security forces and allied fighters have pushed the jihadists back with support from US-led air strikes.

Iraq's military seized the nearby city of Ramadi from Islamic State in December.

Last month, the United Nations and Human Rights Watch warned civilians still living in Falluja were in danger of starvation.

The World Food Programme said stocks were dwindling as government forces trying to recapture the city had cut supply routes, and IS had stopped people from leaving.

Some residents were eating grass to survive, HRW said.

BBC/LY







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