25 May 2014

Fallujah has been the scene, since last night and through noontime today, of military operations along the city's perimeter accompanied by the shelling of a number of its residential districts including Al-Sichir in the north and Al-Nu'aimiya in the south. The preliminary casualty count as announced by the Fallujah General Hospital lists 7 residents killed and 20 others wounded. The overall count now stands at 370 killed and at least 1,347 wounded since the eruption of fighting in December 2013.

Authoritative information indicates that the Iraqi army is planning to launch an overall offensive into the city within the next two days, especially now that the gunmen seized control yesterday of Fallujah University in the southeast sector of the city. The military is also planning to assault and take over the countryside areas around the city in addition to areas within the city itself.

In Ramadi, local police supported by army forces are carrying out security operations aimed at regaining control of areas within the city's southern sector. The Anbar Police commander, General Isma'il Al-Mhalawi, has affirmed that all of Ramadi's residential districts will be secured within this week. However residents are still unable to enter the residential districts.

Meanwhile more people are leaving Fallujah, thus swelling the numbers of migrants who have already left both Ramadi and Fallujah, who are still facing difficult living conditions, especially with the spread of disease. The Anbar Health Authority has revealed that a number of diseases, particularly skin conditions, are spreading among the displaced migrants who have taken refuge in school buildings where the summer heat is compounding their suffering.