[Excerpt: A US officer cautioned that it could take âweeksâ to oust all guerrillas from the city and that US forces were not offering firm dates for people to return but would let the Iraqi authorities know when parts of the city were safe....Among arms found on Friday were 24 surface-to-air missiles....â We never set up dates for people to come back to Fallujah,â Lieutenant Colonel Dan Wilson told reporters.] _http://www.jordantimes.com/sun/news/news9.htm_ (http://www.jordantimes.com/sun/news/news9.htm) Refugees to start return Friday â mayor Sunday, December 19, 2004
FALLUJAH (Reuters) â Families who fled the US assault on Fallujah over a month ago could start returning to some parts of the Iraqi city as early as Friday, its mayor said, despite continued fighting. âUS forces will allow families to return to the Andalous area starting today under a 10-day timetable,â Mahmoud Ibrahim said, referring to a neighbourhood in the southwest of Fallujah. But there was no immediate evidence of anyone returning and witnesses said US forces still battling pockets of die-hard insurgents shelled Fallujah on Friday. A US officer cautioned that it could take âweeksâ to oust all guerrillas from the city and that US forces were not offering firm dates for people to return but would let the Iraqi authorities know when parts of the city were safe. Among arms found on Friday were 24 surface-to-air missiles. âWe never set up dates for people to come back to Fallujah,â Lieutenant Colonel Dan Wilson told reporters. âWe want to see it as soon as possible, but this depends on certain conditions: Security, water supply, electricity, fuel and food distribution ... Bottom line is, the Iraqi government wants to be sure city is safe and secure.â More than 200,000 people who fled the city have yet to go home and many are in need of aid as night temperatures in Iraq sink towards freezing. US forces have so far prevented refugees returning, saying basic facilities must be restored first. The city has been without power or water since the attack, which also destroyed hundreds of buildings and left power and communication lines severed and lying in the streets. US assessment The US military said on Friday it had finished assessing medical facilities, water treatment plants, power plants, roads and housing and found that restoring facilities would take time. âThe assessment confirmed extensive repair is required before reactivating the electrical grid and city water system,â it said in a statement. âMedical facilities will have to be available, properly staffed and stocked.â The Marines, who led the attack on Fallujah on November 8, are working closely with Fallujah's local council to clean up the Sunni Muslim city and begin rebuilding so residents can return. Iraq's interim government said on Thursday civilians would be allowed to start returning home next week. Iraqi ministers are due to meet tribal leaders and other notables from Fallujah on Sunday to finalise the plans for scattered residents to filter back. Sunday, December 19, 2004 Previous Headline Return to Jordan Times Today's Home Page Next Headline [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> $4.98 domain names from Yahoo!. Register anything. http://us.click.yahoo.com/Q7_YsB/neXJAA/yQLSAA/TySplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
