Fallujah: Difference between revisions
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This led to an abortive US operation to control of the city in [[Operation Vigilant Resolve]] or what is known as First Battle of Fallujah, the armed groups had increased their attacks on the American forces throughout the siege on Fallujah, After months of fighting in the city The American forces were defeated in Fallujah by the local fighters. |
This led to an abortive US operation to control of the city in [[Operation Vigilant Resolve]] or what is known as First Battle of Fallujah, the armed groups had increased their attacks on the American forces throughout the siege on Fallujah, After months of fighting in the city The American forces were defeated in Fallujah by the local fighters. |
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According to Iraqi sources, the "First Battle of Fallujah" resulted in the death of over 600 civilians and 12 insurgents{{Fact|date=April 2008}}. Approximately 1,500 [[United States|American]] Marines and Soldiers were killed{{Fact|date=April 2008}}, and over 5,300 wounded and 7,000 mercenaries were killed{{Fact|date=April 2008}}, According to local Iraqis{{Fact|date=April 2008}} the bodies of American soldiers/mercenaries were thrown in the river and the desert, although press reports and U.S. sources report far less casualties{{Fact|date=April 2008}}. |
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During the Second Battle of Fallujah, US forces cut off water and electricity to the city of 600,000 people. US forces used Chemical weapons against people of Fallujah. US air strikes have destroyed hospitals and medical centres. The US took over the Fallujah General Hospital and converted to a military hospital, thus denying the citizens of Fallujah any health care service. On 09 November 2004, US warplanes attacked the Nazzal Emergency Hospital in the centre of the city and completely destroyed it. Thirty-five patients were killed, including five children under the ages of 10 years. According to Amnesty International, "20 Iraqi medical staff [doctors and nurses] and dozens of other civilians were killed when a missile hit a Fallujah clinic on 09 November 2004". The air strike also destroyed the hospital medical supplies warehouse. |
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As of today, the exact number of civilians killed by the US assault on Fallujah is not known. According to the Allawi's government, more than 100,000 Iraqis have been killed and over 200,000 wounded and 200,000 were fled from the city. US forces used internationally banned weapons such as napalm and poison gas, phosphorous weapons and jet fuel, which makes the human body melt, to attack the city, given the high rate of civilian casualties. |
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Napalm and other chemical weapons were used heavily in the Jolan district of Fallujah. a district inhabited by half the inhabiters of the city. |
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The Iraqi Red Crescent Society was prevented by US forces from entering the city to provide supplies to the wounded civilians, and called the health conditions in and around Fallujah "catastrophic". Eyewitnesses say most of the victims are civilians, including, women, children, and unarmed men between the ages of 14-60 years old, who were prevented from leaving the city before the US onslaught. Furthermore, many children have died as a result of starvation, dehydration and outbreaks of diarrhoeal infections. |
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According to an official in the [[United States|American]] Army The "Second Battle of Fallujah" resulted in the reputed death of over 5,000 civilians and 1,350 insurgents. Approximately 95 [[United States|American]] Marines and Soldiers were killed. |
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The U.S. State Department initially denied that it has used [[White phosphorus (weapon)|white phosphorus]] as an anti-personnel weapon in Fallujah. The US Army corrected the denial, and indicated it used the substance against enemy combatants as an offensive weapon.<ref>BBC News, Wednesday 16 November 2005 [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4440664.stm]</ref> |
The U.S. State Department initially denied that it has used [[White phosphorus (weapon)|white phosphorus]] as an anti-personnel weapon in Fallujah. The US Army corrected the denial, and indicated it used the substance against enemy combatants as an offensive weapon.<ref>BBC News, Wednesday 16 November 2005 [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4440664.stm]</ref> |
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Revision as of 03:47, 28 April 2008
Fallujah
Fallujah | |
|---|---|
 Fallujah Mosque | |
| Country | Iraq |
| Governorate | Al Anbar |
| Population (2003)[1] | |
| • Total | 435,774 |
- For other meanings see Fallujah (disambiguation).
Fallujah (Arabic: الفلوجة; Al Fallujah, sometimes transliterated as Falluja or Fallouja) is a city in the Iraqi province of Al Anbar, located roughly 69 km (43 miles) west of Baghdad on the Euphrates. Fallujah dates from Babylonian times and was host to important Jewish academies for many centuries. The city grew from a small town in 1947 to a pre-war population of about 435,774 inhabitants in 2003, according to UN data; however, according to the former regime, there are about 600,000 inhabitants. The current population is unknown but estimated at over 25,131, with approximately 300 Sunni immigrants arriving monthly from Baghdad. Within Iraq, it is known as the "city of mosques" for the more than 200 mosques found in the city and surrounding villages. The Iraq War has reportedly damaged 80% of the city's buildings, with 50% totally destroyed, including 60 of the city's mosques.
History
The region has been inhabited for many millennia. There is evidence that the area surrounding Fallujah was inhabited in Babylonian times. The etymology of the town's name is in some doubt, but one theory is that its Syriac name, Pallgutha, is derived from the word division. The name in Aramaic is Pumbedita, while the city's name in Arabic means "arable land."
For most of its history this region was a part of the Persian empires. At the time of the Sassanids this city was called Anbar, which means "warehouse" in Persian and the city of Anbar together with Kadhimayn were located in the Persian district of Piruz-Shapur.[2]
The region of Fallujah was a part of the Lakhmid Kingdom province of Anbar. As at the time of the Sassanids, this region was also considered to be the warehouse of the Lakhmids troops.[3]
The region played host for several centuries to one of the most important Jewish academies, the Pumbedita Academy, which from 258 to 1038 was one of the two most important centers of Jewish learning worldwide.[4]
Under the Ottoman Empire, Fallujah was a minor stop on one of the country's main roads across the desert west from Baghdad.
In the spring of 1920, the British, who had gained control of Iraq after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, sent Lt Col Gerard Leachman, a renowned explorer and a senior colonial officer, to meet with local leader Shaykh Dhari ibn Mahmoud, perhaps to waiver a loan given to the sheikh. Exactly what happened depends on the source, but according to the Arab version, Gerard Leachman was betrayed by the sheikh who had his two sons shoot him in the legs, then behead him by the sword.[5]
During the brief Anglo-Iraqi War of 1941, the British were defeated in a battle in Fallujah by the inhabiters. During that period the British forces used minorities Such as Christians and Jews Against the people of Fallujah killing thousands.
Before 1941 the town had about 50,000 inhabitants, In 1947 the town had only about 10,000 inhabitants. It grew rapidly into a city after Iraqi independence with the influx of oil wealth into the country. Its position on one of the main roads out of Baghdad made it of central importance.
Many residents of the primarily Sunni city were anti Saddam's government. Under Saddam Hussein, from 1993 to 1996, The city has witness several battles Between Fedayeen Saddam and Dulaim tribe Because Saddam execute Iraqi Dulaimi officers, Although many of the fighters were part of the establishment of the former regime, their main incentive of fight is religion. Falluja is one of the stronghold of the extremist Sunni Islam in Iraq.
Fallujah was heavily industrialised during the Hussein era, with the construction of several large factories, including one closed down by United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) in the 1990s that may have been used to create chemical weapons. A new highway system (a part of Hussein's infrastructure initiatives) circumvented Fallujah and gradually caused the city to decline in national importance by the time of the Iraq War.[5]
Gulf War, 1991
During the Gulf War, Fallujah suffered one of the highest tolls of civilian casualties. Two separate failed bombing attempts on Fallujah's bridge across the Euphrates River hit crowded markets, killing an estimated 200 civilians.
The first bombing occurred early in the Gulf War. A British jet intending to bomb the bridge dropped two laser-guided bombs on the city's main market. Between 50 and 150 civilians died and many more were injured. In the second incident, Coalition forces attacked Fallujah's bridge over the Euphrates with four laser-guided bombs. At least one struck the bridge while one or two bombs fell short in the river. The fourth bomb hit another market elsewhere in the city, reportedly due to failure of its laser guidance system.[6]
Iraq War, 2003
Fallujah was one of the least affected areas of Iraq immediately after the 2003 invasion by the US.
On the evening of April 28, 2003, a crowd of 200 people defied a curfew imposed by the Americans and gathered outside a secondary school used as a military HQ to demand its reopening. Soldiers on the roof of the building opened fire on the crowd, resulting in the deaths of 6-17 civilians and the wounding of over 70. [7].
On March 31 2004, Iraqi insurgents in Fallujah ambushed a convoy containing four American private military contractors from Blackwater USA, were killed and dragged from their cars, beaten, and set on fire. Their burned corpses were then dragged through the streets before being hung over a bridge crossing the Euphrates.
This led to an abortive US operation to control of the city in Operation Vigilant Resolve or what is known as First Battle of Fallujah, the armed groups had increased their attacks on the American forces throughout the siege on Fallujah, After months of fighting in the city The American forces were defeated in Fallujah by the local fighters.
The U.S. State Department initially denied that it has used white phosphorus as an anti-personnel weapon in Fallujah. The US Army corrected the denial, and indicated it used the substance against enemy combatants as an offensive weapon.[8]
Current situation
The American forces allowed a few thousand Fallujah residents to return to the city in mid-December 2004 after undergoing biometric identification, provided they carry their ID cards all the time. US officials report that "more than half of Fallujah's 39,000 homes were damaged during Operation Phantom Fury, and about 10,000 of those were destroyed" while compensation amounts to 1.5 percent of the value of damaged houses, with an estimated 32,000 homeowners eligible, according to Marine Lt Col William Brown.[9] According to NBC, 9,000 homes were destroyed, thousands more were damaged and of the 32,000 compensation claims only 115 have been paid as of April 14 2005.[10] According to Mike Marqusee of Iraq Occupation Focus writing in the Guardian, "Fallujah's compensation commissioner has reported that 36,000 of the city's 50,000 homes were destroyed, along with 60 schools and 65 mosques and shrines".[11] Reconstruction mainly consists of clearing rubble from heavily-damaged areas and reestablishing basic utility services. 10 percent of the pre-offensive inhabitants had returned as of mid-January 2005, and 5 percent as of the end of March 2005.[12] In 2006, some reports say two thirds have now returned and only 15 percent remain displaced on the outskirts of the city.[13]
Every day 20 children die in fallujah, The Iraqi Red Crescent Society estimates that there are about 18,000 deaths of children every year in Fallujah, the Chemical weapons caused Congenital deformation between every five children Born in fallujah.
At one time Fallujah had a population of 600,000, but none of the officials in the city seemed to know how many there are now.
Pre-offensive inhabitant figures are unknown; the nominal population was assumed to have been 435,000-600,000. Current estimates by the Iraqi Ministry of Interior and Coalition Forces put the city's population at over 100,000, possibly closing in on 230,000.
In the aftermath of the offensive, relative calm was restored to Fallujah.
In December 2006, enough control had been exerted over the city to transfer operational control of the city from American forces to the 1st Iraqi Army Division. During the same month, the Fallujah police force began major offensive operations under their new chief. Coalition Forces, as of May 2007, are operating in direct support of the Iraqi Security Forces in the city. The city is one of Anbar province's centers of gravity for the joint American and Iraqi counterinsurgency effort in the region.[14][15]
In June 2007, Regimental Combat Team 6 began Operation Alljah, a security plan modeled on a successful operation in Ramadi. After segmenting districts of the city, Iraqi Police and Coalition Forces established police district headquarters in order to further localize the law enforcement capabilites of the Iraqi Police.
A similar program was met with success in the city of Ramadi in late 2006 and early 2007.
See also
- Operation Market Sweep
- First Battle of Fallujah
- Second Battle of Fallujah
- Iraqi insurgency
- List of places in Iraq
References
- ^ http://www.iraqcoalition.org/regions/south-central/provinces/english/anbar.html
- ^ Muḥammadī Malāyirī, Muḥammad. 1993. Tārīkh va farhang-i Īrān: dar dawrān-i intiqāl az ʻaṣr-i Sāsānī bih ʻaṣr-i Islāmī. Tihrān: Intishārāt-i Yazdān.
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ [2]
- ^ Global Security, Fallujah
- ^ Human Rights Watch
- ^ Human Rights Watch. Violent Response: The U.S. Army in al-Falluja, Part IV. Accessed 13 May 2007.
- ^ BBC News, Wednesday 16 November 2005 [3]
- ^ Washington Post, 18 April 2005.
- ^ Still locked down, Fallujah slow to rebuild - Nightly News with Brian Williams - MSNBC.com
- ^ The Guardian.
- ^ [4].
- ^ "IRIN Middle East - IRAQ: Fallujah situation improving slowly".
- ^ New York Times, "Plan B? Let's Give Plan A a Chance First"
- ^ Seattle Times, "Anbar province revitalized as it tames insurgents"
