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.

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.

5 May 2014

The security situation in Ramadi and Fallujah has escalated today, particularly in Fallujah which yesterday experienced the most violent activity. There has been indiscriminate shelling that lasted many hours of a number of Fallujah's residential districts and the outlying areas to the north and south of the city. Final casualty figures indicate that 15 people were killed, most of whom were women and children, and 7 others were wounded by the shelling.

To the northeast, in Al-Garma, a large number of mortar strikes were targeted at most of the town, in addition to the indiscriminate shelling and aerial bombardment. Reports indicate that 2 people have been killed there and 9 others were wounded.

In Ramadi, violent clashes are still raging in the city's southern sector, while the central, northern, and northeastern sectors are relatively calm, as they have been for about one week.

There are still no reports of preliminary results in the April 30th elections; all of Anbar's ballot boxes have been transported to Baghdad, where political observers are observing the ballot-counting process. Some preliminary results are expected either today or tomorrow.

The flooding that has affected most of Fallujah, Abu Ghraib, and Baghdad's western outskirts remains unchanged with the continued occupation of the Fallujah barrage by gunmen. There are reports of troop concentrations that might be ordered into Fallujah to bring it under government security forces' control.

A humanitarian report has criticized the role of the military, alleging that the army had obstructed the transport of those displaced from their homes, thus exposing them to gunfire. Although there has been no official government response, the report has been welcomed by the civil institutions and the public in general, despite the fact that security forces has denied the allegations. The situation, however, does indicate disorganization on the military's part, by exposing civilians to gunfire and shelling during the past four months.

4 May 2014

Probably the most significant development has been the announcement by the Deputy leader of the Anbar Governorate Council, Saleh Al-Issawi, that the Security Committee, the armed forces, and the police have reclaimed total control of the Al-Saqlawiya township near Fallujah. Al-Issawi added that an emergency forces regiment has been formed and entrusted with the protection of civilians in the township. He expects that security forces will be able to regain control of the areas around Fallujah within the next few days.

Regarding the security situation within Fallujah, a General Hospital medical source announced today that at least 5 people have been killed and 17 have been wounded as a result of the shelling of a number of residential districts that began Saturday evening and continued into this afternoon.

Meanwhile Al-Garma, northeast of Fallujah, has been the scene of shelling and violent clashes since the early hours of this morning in a number of districts and at two vital bridges.

In Ramadi, clashes have resumed in the city's southern sector and its residential districts, albeit at a level somewhat lower than it has been over recent weeks.

The other important aspect is the flooding that has swept into the eastern regions of the governorate, especially in Fallujah and Abu Ghraib. Officials have said that gunmen are still controlling the Fallujah barrage, and that they are opening and closing the sluice gates at will. Reports indicate that at least 60 schools and three electric power stations have been flooded, as well as the gas processing plant, the grain elevator, and at least two other factories in Abu Ghraib.

All of the Anbar ballot boxes are now in Baghdad after having been collected from all the governorate's regions at the Ayn Al-Asad military base, and then transported to the Baghdad International Fair ground where they are under observation by representatives of the various political blocs. Sorting and counting of the ballots is still underway and no official preliminary results have been announced. Some of the political parties have announced some extrapolated results but these are not official.

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.

2 May 2014

Everybody, especially the political blocs and parties, was surprised by the transport of the Anbar ballot boxes to the Baghdad International Fair (being used as the national balloting center). The boxes were collected at the Ayn Al-Asad military base in Al-Baghdadi (between Hit and Haditha) and then transported by air to Baghdad. This first-time-ever step has surprised and angered the participating political entities; they fear that this will facilitate the manipulation of the results, in the absence of observers and representatives of the parties and blocs, and has cast a shadow over the political scene in Anbar where everyone is awaiting the results, regardless of whatever is happening behind the scenes.

There were clashes and heavy shelling today in Fallujah and Al-Garma. Fallujah has been shelled by artillery fire and air strikes which has been broadened to include most of the city's residential districts. A casualty estimate announced a short time ago indicates one person being killed and 10 others, mainly women and children, were injured.

In Al-Garma, there were violent clashes and heavy shelling in a number of the town's districts. There have been some civilian casualties, but the violent military action is still underway as of this afternoon (Friday).

Meanwhile, official Anbar sources have stated today that there are secret negotiations in the Jordanian capital, Amman, between the leadership of the Military Council of Anbar Revolutionaries and high-level representatives of the central government. Sabah Karhout, the leader of the Anbar Governorate Council, said in a press release that the next few days might produce a way out of the crisis, and the return of displaced families to their homes.

Water levels of the Euphrates River have risen and the flooding has inundated vast tracts of agricultural fields in and around the township of Abu Ghraib and the western outskirts of Baghdad. We have learned that the Governor of Baghdad, Ali Al-Timimi has stated that the flooding is beyond the control of the local government. He has called on the relevant ministries to provide a solution, given the spread of the flooding toward the capital.

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.