07 August 2014

The Anbar Provincial Council has issued two press statements. In the first, all council members threatened to submit their collective resignation if the government did not stop the random shelling and aerial bombardment of residential areas in Ramadi, Fallujah, Al-Garma, and other cities. 

In the other statement, some council members announced that they had been working on the establishment of armed units that will be subordinated to the Anbar Provincial Council and coordinated with Anbar police and military authorities, respectively. Members of these armed units will be recruited from the ranks of former Iraqi Army officers. The idea is now being discussed in the lobbies of the Anbar Provincial Council in order to receive the necessary authorization from Baghdad and launch the project.  

In Fallujah, 3 people were killed and 7 wounded in the aerial bombardment of the residential areas of Askari, Nazzal, Shurta, Wahda, Kamaliyat, and Sharia Arbaan ("Street 40"). The total figures show that over 600 local civilians have been killed and 1,422 wounded by bombardment since the beginning of military operations in late December 2013.  
In Al-Garma, 2 people were killed and 3 wounded in the aerial bombardment that continued from late last night till this afternoon. 

In Haditha, a security source has announced that Iraq's security forces have managed to retake control over the town of Barwana, which is situated west of the city of Haditha on the Tigris River. 

There has been some information on heavy overnight clashes between security forces and armed groups, with the latter trying to enter Haditha, but a strong response from the security forces and pro-government "Awakening" militias based in Haditha stopped them.  

In Al-Qaim, aerial bombardment and/or shelling of southern sectors of this border city wounded 4 people. 

21 May 2014

The Anbar Governorate Office announced this afternoon that security forces have taken total control of the Al-Hawz, Al-Humaira, Street 60, Al-Andalus, and Al-Thubbat districts of Ramadi's southern sector where military operations have been ongoing for about four months. This is a success, which was achieved after fierce battles that were announced last night by the Anbar Police Commander, General Isma'il Mhalawi.

Meanwhile in Fallujah, offensive operations were launched on two fronts - from Al-Nu'aimiya in the southern sector and from Al-Sichir to the north - but the security forces were unable to penetrate into the city because of the fierce resistance by the gunmen; clashes and battles are still going on, albeit intermittently, in those areas.

Other operations, described by security sources as being pre-emptive, have included shelling targeted at some of the districts where gunmen are positioned according to claims by the security forces. The Fallujah General Hospital has announced that one resident has been killed and 6 others have been wounded in the shelling of Al-Wahda, Al-Askari, Al-Judhaifi, Nazzal, and Al-Julan districts, in addition to the northeastern Al-Risala district.

Late last night it was announced that more than 21,000 have been displaced from the city's southern sector; they are the last of the families who had remained in the that sector. They are today making their way toward Anbar's western regions. The head of the Habbaniya township, Fawzi Zbar, announced that more than 200 families have arrived in the township where they have taken refuge in the township's schools, more than 30 of which have been vacated in order to accommodate them. Mr. Zbari has called on the humanitarian, human rights, and service organizations to provide food aid for these displaced families. Al-Rutba township has also received more than 400 families, as have Hit, Haditha, Rawa, and Al-Qaim townships.

Since last Sunday, the Anbar University has received large numbers of students from the Fallujah University. They are now attending classes at the Anbar University in Ramadi. On Monday, the Anbar University announced that it was providing each of these students with 100,000 Dinars (about 86 USD) per moth, after the central Education Ministry had announced providing them with 50,000 Dinars. We have visited the Anbar University where we observed basically normal activity and we learned that the academic year is to be extended because of the security situation; final exams for this year will probably take place in early August.