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Falluja
toll tops 600 Sunday 11 April 2004, 22:33 Makka Time, 19:33 GMT
More than 600 Iraqis have been killed in fighting in Falluja since US forces
launched an offensive against resistance fighters in the town a week ago,
say hospital sources.
"I can say more than 600 have been killed,
but the number may not be totally correct as many families have already buried
their dead in their gardens", Dr Rafa Hayad al-Issawi, the director of
Falluja's hospital, told Aljazeera. As well as the dead, al-Issawi estimated that around 1200 people had been
injured in the fighting, some of the fiercest that Iraq has seen since US-led
forces invaded the country last to overthrow Saddam Hussein. Aljazeera's correspondent in in Falluja reported that 11 people were killed
and about 50 others wounded by US gunfire, despite the ceasefire agreed upon
between the US occupation forces and the Iraqi resistance. An assessment by five international non-governmental organisations on Friday
said that 470 people had been killed in Falluja. Of 1200 injured, it said 243 were women and 200 children. The groups warned
their estimate may be too low. "Dead bodies are lying in the streets. Ambulances are being shot at by
snipers. Medical aid and supplies have been stopped by US Occupation Forces," a
statement from the NGOs said. The Marines conducting the week-long operation in Falluja have been accused
of firing indiscriminately on people in the city, killing women and children.
Soldiers killed US military spokesmen have strenuously denied those accusations, saying
troops are trained to ensure all their actions are extremely precise and only
combatants are killed. Four 1st Armored Division soldiers were killed in two separate attacks on April 9 in Baghdad, the statement said, while three 1st Infantry Division soldiers were killed and two wounded in an ambush near Tikrit, north of Baghdad the same day. On April 10th, a Marine was killed as a result of fighting in the al-Anbar province west of Baghdad. No further details on the incident were provided. The deaths and attacks had not previously been reported. The Mulindwas Communication Group
"With Yoweri Museveni, Uganda is in anarchy" Groupe de communication Mulindwas "avec Yoweri Museveni, l'Ouganda est dans l'anarchie" |
