04 December 2014

In Ramadi today, ISIL launched an attack on the southern sector, including the Fast Response Brigade Base in Hawz; security forces supported by tribal fighters repelled the attack but a number of security personnel were wounded, while 8 ISIL gunmen were killed. The clashes spread into other southern districts, but security sources say that they have re-established their control of the area, as Iraqi air support struck ISIL targets, killing at least 13 gunmen, according to the Anbar Command. Some ISIL vehicles and field equipment were also seized.

In the Tharthar area, security forces have been able to retake control of the highway to Baghdad.

In Fallujah, 6 mortar rounds today struck the General Hospital complex; there were no casualties but several hospital buildings were damaged.

In Hit, there are now massive troop concentrations around the town's perimeter, and reports indicate that the major military campaign is on the verge of being launched.

A source at the Anbar Council confirmed today that Iranian warplanes have attacked a number of ISIL positions in the eastern part of the Province.

The Council also affirmed today that Council members and a large number of tribal leaders will travel to Washington, D.C. within the next few days to meet U.S. military leaders and government officials. Among the matters to be agreed upon is the formation of a 'tributary' army consisting of more than 50,000 Anbar volunteers who will combat ISIL following the liberation of Anbar. Some 'Awakenings' leaders have been opposed to the creation of an independent Anbar army, similar to the Peshmarga forces in Iraqi Kurdistan.

30 October 2014

There has been some escalation in the security situation, especially in the Province's western regions. A security source has announced the discovery of a mass grave where ISIL gunmen have buried a large number of the Awakenings of the Bu-Nimr tribe in the western part of Hit township. More than 130 bodies were buried there following the executions carried out by ISIL gunmen, including some children and elderly people.

A source from the Bu-Nimr has announced that the number of those executed from his tribe was at least 228.

The Anbar Council leader announced the start of a military operation to exact revenge for those victims; the area of operation includes the western parts of Hit.

In Ramadi, there have been two major clashes between the gunmen and security forces who were supported by Iraqi air support.

In Fallujah, 2 civilians were killed and 7 wounded by the exchange of bombardment by the security forces on the city's perimeter and the gunmen controlling the city.

In Ramadi today, A GMC vehicle was targeted by mistake in an Iraqi airstrike. It was carrying a family consisting of 5 members, but the Iraqi pilot thought it was carrying ISIL gunmen. The family was on its way from western Ramadi to Sulaymaniya Province in Kurdistan.

05 August 2014

Between yesterday evening and this afternoon, numerous residential districts in Fallujah were shelled/bombarded; an initial casualty count shows that 6 residents were killed and 13 were wounded.

In Al-Garma, intermittent clashes around the town's periphery and the bombardment of its residential districts have killed 2 residents and wounded 4.

In Ramadi, the military operation against the city's western districts has continued, but we do not yet have any updated casualty figures.

In Haditha, the gunmen, after failing yesterday to penetrate into the town, have now taken control of the town's outlying villages and rural areas.

The main western townships that encompass vast portions of Anbar governorate are all still under the control of the gunmen.

An important development is that those displaced from Fallujah, Ramadi, and other eastern Anbar regions made their way originally to the western townships that were still under government control. But now the security situation in those townships has become similar to the situation in their original hometowns, prompting some to look for other safe havens; meanwhile some Ramadi and Fallujah residents have been returning to their homes regardless of the shelling and military operations. Most of them do not have the financial means that would allow them to seek refuge outside the governorate, in Kurdistan or elsewhere. Today we have observed numerous families taking refuge in trucks parked in Hit and Al-Baghdadi that are still relatively calm. Others have set themselves up in parking areas and in other unsuitable locations where they are experiencing extremely difficult conditions. No food and water aid or relief has found its way to them.

28 June 2014

ISIS fighters have taken control over the western parts of Ramadi, the capital of Anbar Province. Serious clashes between the group and Iraq’s security forces have been intermittent since late on June 27, and many residents have left several areas where fighting has raged.

ISIS militants have reportedly been preparing for a further push on the city of Ramadi from the west in order to gain full control over it. 
Security forces are getting ready to launch operations to regain control over the Al-Ta'ameen neighborhood and the Khamsa Kelo (“Kilometer Five”) enclave west of Ramadi that were recently taken by ISIS.

Large numbers of security forces have been deployed on the eastern outskirts of Ramadi city, and earthen bulwarks have been built on its northern and northeastern sides.

Seven residents were wounded in the shelling and bombardment of the Fallujah city, as there have also been wounded in the town of Al-Garma northeast of Fallujah.

Some sources say the administrator (qaim-maqam) of Haditha district has escaped to the Kurdistan Region today. A subsequent tribal meeting has elected a new administrator, Abdul-Hakim al-Jughayfi, who previously occupied this post in 2003-2004. ISIS does not control the city but its militants control all the areas surrounding Haditha on all sides.

Iraqi security forces have killed 3 militants in a foiled ISIS attack aimed at imposing control over the Haditha Dam on the Euphrates River. The dam is currently, though, still in the hands of Iraqi government forces.

In the early morning today, the Syrian Air Force bombed the University Hospital in the town of Ana, damaging the buildings of school's reception and emergency department. The bombings did not cause any casualties.

Iraq’s security forces announced that they are in control of the border crossings into Jordan and Syria, respectively, though that claim cannot be independently confirmed. 

26 June 2014

The most significant development in Ramadi today has been the penetration of the gunmen toward the Anbar Operations Command in western Ramadi. The gunmen have now surrounded the Command and are about 1.5 kilometers away, having seized the Al-Shaheed police station in Al-Ta'ameem District. They are now on their way to capturing the most important military site in Anbar Governorate.

Meanwhile, army forces have opened five sluice gates at the Haditha Dam in western Anbar. The resulting rise in water levels has breached the Alous pontoon bridge, and has flooded a large number of residential homes along the banks of the Euphrates River. There is growing concern over the likelihood of of a major clash between the gunmen surrounding Haditha and the joint Awakenings and security forces that are still holding the Haditha Dam.

Syrian regime military aircraft have today attacked areas along the border in the boundary region between Nineveh and Anbar governorates.

In Fallujah, a medical source has announced that 3 citizens have been killed and 2 others wounded in the fierce clashes in the Al-Hayakil district of southern Fallujah and in the renewed shelling of the central and northern districts of the city.

There are also reports that the head of the Anbar Council's security Committee, Ahmed Hameed Sharqi has disappeared along with his family. This is in line with the departure of Anbar officials to Kurdistan or out of Iraq, fearing the imminent exacerbation of the situation in Anbar. The situation here is indeed frightening following the gunmen's successes in the rapid capture of the governorate's vital locations and facilities.

29 May 2014

Fallujah is still surrounded on all sides by Iraqi army forces. Fierce clashes have taken place on the city's perimeter and in the partially constructed area of buildings belonging to Fallujah University. Many of the city's districts have been shelled, from Al-Sichir in the north, the city's central districts, and on into Al-Nu'aimiya in the south. Since last night and into this afternoon, at least 4 residents have been killed and 8 wounded by the shelling.

Military operations have also been underway in Al-Garma, northeast of Fallujah, with fierce clashes continuing between the groups of gunmen and the security forces supported by army units.

In Ramadi, military operations are continuing in the city's southern sector. Yesterday there were heavy clashes in the Al-Hawz district in southwestern Ramadi which then spread into other southern districts. An Anbar Police Command spokesman has stated that they are continuing their military operations in order to regain total control of Ramadi, and that the last square-shaped area still occupied in central Ramadi by the gunmen is totally surrounded. The source expects that total control will be achieved within one week. The areas that have been taken over by the security forces are now completely secure and we have seen some families returning to their homes in those areas.

Regarding the displaced persons, there are still many families, especially from Fallujah, that have made their way to other governorates, to Kurdistan, to Baghdad, and to the towns in western Anbar. The latter displaced families are still facing shortages of food and of the relief aid provided by the relief agencies and the local government. The local authorities are being called upon to provide medicines and medical care for the sick and the elderly, following the announcement by the Anbar Council that it is proving each displaced family with 500,000 Dinars.

Reaction to Al-Maliki's proposed conference that would be attended by all parties in the conflict has been largely positive, having been welcomed by the local government and many of the tribal sheikhs. However, some tribal sheikhs are rejecting the idea, saying that the step has come too late and that the humanitarian situation needs to be resolved first.

22 May 2014

In Fallujah, yesterday's two-front military offensive - from the south and northeast of the city - was thwarted by the gunmen's fierce resistance in battles that lasted for more than six hours. The security forces - mainly the Iraqi army - turned to the heavy shelling of many of the city's residential districts, resulting in 7 civilians killed and 5 others wounded, according to the Fallujah General Hospital.

In Ramadi, a major military operation has been underway since last night in the city's southern sector. The security forces are still saying that they are advancing toward the sector's farther reaches; a source at the Anbar police command has stated that the operation will be completed within one week, allowing residents to return to their homes.

Regarding the displaced persons situation, there are still some residents moving out of Fallujah; today, more than 200 families have left the city and made their way to Habbaniya, northeast of Ramadi. They are facing difficult living conditions, as there is no food aid being provided by either the central or local governments. The limited amount of available aid is not enough to provide for the 400 -  600 thousand displaced within Anbar governorate, while others have made their way to Baghdad, Kurdistan, and even out of Iraq.

26 April 2014

At dawn this morning gunmen blew up a school being used as a polling station in the Al-Karabla in Al-Qa'im township in western Anbar on the border with Syria. The school was completely demolished but there were no casualties.

In Ramadi, there are some relatively low-level clashes still going on; the various hot-zone districts are relatively calm, although some gunfire could be heard during the night.

In Fallujah, a large number of families - and some from Ramadi - have migrated towards Kurdistan, firstly as a result of the flooding of the city's southern sector, and also as a result of the continuing indiscriminate shelling that has today caused the death of one resident and injured 6 others.

A pedestrian crossing point has been opened after the flooding of vast areas of Fallujah.

Al-Garma is completely closed off by the army with nobody able to get into or out of the town which has been the target of intensive shelling during the past three days.

Also today, the Anbar Governorate Council has disbursed some of the funds allocated as compensation to the city of Ramadi. The disbursement amounts to 10 million Dinars (about $8400) to each residential home. The amount is insufficient, but the local government has said that it represents the first partial payment of the compensation for those whose homes have been destroyed.

Sheikh Ali Hatem, who had led the Military Council of Anbar Tribal Revolutionaries, left the country yesterday (Friday) by way of the Treybeel crossing into Jordan on his way to Amman. This has raised questions: he is wanted by the government but left the Governorate and the country using his Iraqi passport through the official border crossing at Treybeel. Some are saying that negotiations are about to take place in Amman, and that he secured permission by the central government to leave. Others are saying that he was given a large sum of money that secured his exit to Amman.

Regarding the upcoming elections, there are differences of opinion among the Anbar residents about whether to take part or not. Obviously, there are numerous hindrances, particularly in Ramadi and Fallujah that can only undertake a limited partial balloting.