6 May 2014

In Fallujah, Iraq’s army forces tried overnight to enter the city held by insurgents from the west at Fallahat area. The troops faced stubborn resistance and the ensuing battle lasted over two hours. The army could not go into Fallujah. No death toll has been announced so far.     
The Iraqi military continued to shell neighborhoods in Fallujah. Four people were killed in the overnight and early morning (3 children and one woman) in addition to 11 injured (also women and children).  

Fierce clashes between Iraq’s security forces and armed groups took place in the southern parts of Fallujah, especially in Judhayfi, Ghazal, Mu’allimin, Wahda, and Risala neighborhoods.

Insurgents continue to control the water scheme on the Euphrates. The Iraqi military has reportedly called reinforcements in order to restore control over the Fallujah barrage. The flooding caused by the deliberate closure of the Fallujah barrage continues and water runs over 1.5 meters deep. The flooding has driven local residents out of their dwellings in addition to damaging the infrastructure and spoiling the harvest in areas around Abu Ghraib, Annaz, Zawbaa, Nasr, and Salam towns.   

Insurgents have attacked Amiriya township south of Fallujah today in an attempt to seize control over the Amiriya barrage, which is an auxiliary water structure attached to the Fallujah barrage regulating the water outflow into Lake Tharthar. Iraqi security forces have managed to repel the attack but there were 4 local policemen wounded. Observers say the flooding would have reached much higher levels if the sluice gates of the Amiriya barrage had been closed too. 

Ramadi city, the capital of Anbar province has been relatively calm for over a week, except for intermittent clashes in the southern sector of the city.