Falluja fury as marines move in to restore calm
Tempest
Iraq's death toll climbs over weekend as US forces clash with guerrillas
Patrick Graham in Falluja
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,1179534,00.html
A spate of violent clashes has left 22 people dead across Iraq this
weekend as fighting erupted between US forces and guerrillas armed with
mortars and rocket-propelled grenades.
In Baghdad yesterday, five Iraqis were injured when a bomb exploded on a
street. US troops sealed off the area.
In Tikrit a three-year-old boy died yesterday after being shot by US
troops when the car in which he was travelling failed to stop at a
checkpoint.
Rebels in Mosul fired a rocket at a government building yesterday,
killing two civilians and wounding 14 others.
But it was Falluja where the fiercest fighting raged as marines and
guerrillas fought for hours through the alleys of the city, leaving one
marine, at least six Iraqi civilians, including an 11-year-old boy, and
a television cameraman dead.
In the fighting, which began on Friday, 25 Iraqis and five marines were
injured.
By Saturday morning, all the main roads into Falluja were blocked by US
soldiers. Light armoured vehicles and Humvees were positioned around the
sprawling suburb where the fighting had taken place.
After promising a new approach to the resentful population of Falluja,
US Marines seem to be making the same mistakes as their predecessors,
the US 82nd Airborne who moved out of Falluja on Wednesday. Last April
the 82nd killed 18 protesters over two days of fighting. In the first
six months of the occupation, it killed at least 40 civilians and police
in and around the city.
The Americans have never recovered the trust of the people following
those deaths, and within a few months a full-scale insurgency had
erupted across the province of Al Anbar. By early autumn, the US army
had virtually lost control of the area around Falluja and has not
managed to regain the upper hand. American soldiers are now rarely seen
outside their vehicles without helicopter and tank support.
But Friday's sweep through the city was seen by many residents as a
display of power by their latest occupiers, the Marine Expeditionary
Force.
'On Thursday there was an attack that killed an American soldier - this
[Friday's sweep] was revenge,' said Mohammed Albalwa, the president of
the Falluja City Council. 'They want to prove they are strong and show
they are in control. But they can't control Falluja.'
Exactly what happened on Friday in the Askadari area is unclear. At the
wake of one of the dead, the mourners were adamant that there had been
no fighting between insurgents and marines.
'The Americans came here at 9 am, shooting everywhere after a bomb went
off a few hours earlier,' said Tahir Mukhlif Abdullah, at the wake of
his nephew, Shakir Mahmoud Mukhlif.
According to Tahir, Shakir, a 32-year-old shopkeeper, ran next door when
he saw his friend Adil shot outside his gate. As he bent over his
friend, he was shot in the head. At Adil's house, dark stains run down
the driveway onto the street.
'When the shooting started, Adil went out to the gate to see what was
happening and there were three shots,' said Jusuf, one of Adil's
brothers. According to the family, US marines came to the house and
stayed for half an hour, taking photos and talking to the family.
'I'm sorry, sorry,' said Jusuf, repeating what a soldier said to him in
English. Jusuf said the officer told him to go to the base and complain
about the deaths.
During the handover of control from the 82nd Airborne to the marines,
the new commander had promised a different approach.
'We think we will see the day when we are playing soccer with them,'
said General James Conway. 'But it won't be in a few weeks.'
When the marines first arrived one week ago, many people in Falluja were
relieved. 'They are very good,' a sheikh who is hiding from the US army
said. 'They knock on doors instead of kicking them down.'
--
"The tyranny of a prince is not so dangerous to the public welfare as
the apathy of a citizen in a democracy."
- Baron de Montesquieu, 1748
Roedy Green
or quoted :
>But it was Falluja where the fiercest fighting raged as marines and
>guerrillas fought for hours through the alleys of the city, leaving one
>marine, at least six Iraqi civilians, including an 11-year-old boy, and
>a television cameraman dead.
would this fighting not melt away if the US simply announced the date
of the election and the date of US withdrawal? Then everyone could
start focusing on winning the election.
--
Canadian Mind Products, Roedy Green.
Coaching, problem solving, economical contract programming.
See http://mindprod.com/jgloss/jgloss.html for The Java Glossary.
Tempest
Roedy Green wrote:
>
> On Sun, 28 Mar 2004 06:51:03 GMT, Tempest <tem...@hotmail.com> wrote
> or quoted :
>
> >But it was Falluja where the fiercest fighting raged as marines and
> >guerrillas fought for hours through the alleys of the city, leaving one
> >marine, at least six Iraqi civilians, including an 11-year-old boy, and
> >a television cameraman dead.
>
> would this fighting not melt away if the US simply announced the date
> of the election and the date of US withdrawal? Then everyone could
> start focusing on winning the election.
No, it wouldn't stop the fighting.
That's just wishful thinking.
There are too many factions vying for power, and violence is one of
their methods.
Just like character assassination is used by the Repugs in the U.S.