7 May 2014

The latest developments here in Anbar: 9 mortar rounds have struck the Emergency Room at the Fallujah General Hospital: there were no casualties, but structural damage was heavy. This is the eighth time that mortar fire from unknown sources have hit the hospital which is the only facility that can receive those being injured in the military operations.

The shelling of the city since last night and into this afternoon has killed or injured 53 people, including 45 whose injuries vary in their severity. Most of the dead and injured are women and children.

The Fallujah General Hospital has announced the latest casualty totals since the beginning of the crisis fourth months ago up to today: more than 300 have been killed and 1,332 have been wounded as a result of the fighting.

Heavy clashes have been raging in the southwestern sector of Al-Garma, northeast of Fallujah, and a number of mortar rounds within the town.

South of Fallujah, in the town of Amiriyat Al-Fallujah, mortar fire has killed 2 people and wounded 4 others. Clashes are still ongoing in the area of the water plant in the town beginning with an attempt by gunmen to seize the plant. Strict security measures are in force at the location.

The flooding situation in southern Fallujah and in Abu Ghraib remains critical, with the gunmen still in control of the Fallujah barrage, and with flood waters inundating areas within the Baghdad city limits.

In the western Anbar township of Hit, two car bombs were detonated yesterday. A third attack, by a suicide bomber, targeted the main entrance of the Hit Hospital and killed 4 people and injured 7 others. The township has been completely surrounded and search operations are being carried out, after reports of more car bombs and suicide bombers preparing to launch attacks.

Ballots cast in last week's elections are still being counted at the Baghdad International Fair. Some political bloc representatives are naming alleged winners in the balloting, but the Election Commission in Anbar has denied these claims, stressing that there no final results yet. Everyone is awaiting the results in the hope that they will bring the sought-after changes to Anbar's representation in the Iraqi parliament.

3 May 2014

The Election Commission announced today that more than 800 ballot boxes have been transported from the Ayn Al-Asad military base in Al-Baghdadi to the Baghdad International Fair under stringent observation by the Election Commission, amid fears expressed by the participating political parties and blocs. The fallout from the balloting process has been in the form of claims and accusations of fraud and forgery between the competing political entities; as of right now the Commission has announced that it has received at least 30 complaints with regard to vote-rigging, having allocated three days for such complaints to be submitted from the time of the end of voting. Everybody is now awaiting the outcome of the balloting; some sources have indicated that some of the smaller political entities which had played a minor role in previous governments have now won the majority of Anbar's seats, with the larger more influential blocs have had some setbacks. The final outcome will be announced either in the governorate or in Baghdad.

The security situation in both Ramadi and Fallujah is still difficult.

Last night, a car-bomb was detonated in central Ramadi, following several days of the most violent clashes to date. Some widely-dispersed but violent clashes are still underway in the city's southern sectors; some residential districts have been hit by both artillery and aerial bombardment, even in the districts that have enjoyed a period of relative calm following the re-opening of their police stations.

In Fallujah, a source at the Fallujah General Hospital announced that two civilians were killed and 7 were wounded as a result of the indiscriminate shelling that has targeted a number of the city's residential districts.

Meanwhile, observers of local developments are expecting that the continuing water flow will engulf half of Fallujah within the next few days unless a solution is found, now that the Euphrates flood waters have reached Abu Ghraib, causing widespread damage and destruction over vast tracts of agricultural land; at least 10,000 farmers and peasants have abandoned their fields and have sought refuge in other less-threatened areas. This critical situation come as a result of the gunmen's re-occupation of the Fallujah barrage and their closing of the sluice gates, resulting in some of Baghdad's outlying residential districts, as well as most of Fallujah being threatened by the ever-rising flood waters, and are expected to be under water within 10 days if the situation  remains as it is now.

1 May 2014

The Election Commission director here in Anbar, Khalid Rijab, announced this afternoon that the voting percentage in the governorate was 51%, not including Anbar citizens who cast their votes outside Iraq or the members of the security forces. When these votes are taken into account the overall percentage may be slightly higher.

The Commission has since this morning received at least 7 objections regarding the polling from representatives of the various entities and parties taking part in the elections.

The ballot boxes were collected and dispatched to Baghdad. Some doubts have been expressed in the capital with regard to the manner in which the ballots were transported from the governorate to the capital where the ballots are to be re-counted. This is the first time that the ballots have been sent to Baghdad, with the Commission explaining that the step has been taken to avoid unauthorized tampering, while some political blocs are claiming that the method would lead to fraud.

Some observer missions have indicated that the coalition led by the former Anbar governor, Qassem Al-Fahdawi, the Iraqi Unity Coalition led by the Defense Minister , and the Al-Muttahidoun bloc are leading in the balloting, with the other blocs receiving their shares of the remaining ballots.

On the security front, clashes have resumed in Ramadi and are still continuing, especially in the city's southern sector.

In Fallujah, a medical source has announced that 10 people have been wounded as a result of the indiscriminate shelling that had continued until midday today (Thursday).

In Al-Garma, a number of mortar shells have struck various parts of the town, wounding at least 4 people.

The overall situation in Ramadi is still being plagued by repeated security violations, in the aftermath of the general elections.