04 June 2014

Since the early hours of this morning, funeral processions have been underway for the 9 people who were killed in last night's explosions, among them Sheikh Muhammad Abu Risha, the leader of the Ramadi Awakenings (Sahwat).

After the blowing up and collapse of the Al-Ma'moun and 'Japanese' bridges, the Directorate-General of Bridge in Anbar announced that at least 30 of the 80 bridges in Anbar have now been blown up, and that repairs will take more than year and cost more than 5 billion Dinars.

Meanwhile, living conditions in Fallujah are still very difficult as a result of the military operations that have intensified over the past two days. Initial casualty figures today show that at least 20 people have been killed and at least 40 others have been wounded in the continuing indiscriminate shelling of the city's residential districts. The chief resident at the Fallujah General Hospital has stated that this is the 19th time that his facility has been hit by mortar fire. Five medical personnel were killed in the latest attack.

In Ramadi, families have been returning to their homes in the central Al-Jumhouri and Al-Shurta districts where the situation has been calm recently.

This is in contrast to the situation in Fallujah, where we have observed the departure of at least 100 families from the city's southern sector and from Al-Nu'aimiya, also to the south.