{"id":3293,"date":"2014-01-05T06:48:52","date_gmt":"2014-01-05T06:48:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/wp3\/?p=3293"},"modified":"2014-01-05T06:48:52","modified_gmt":"2014-01-05T06:48:52","slug":"iraq-conflict-sunni-fighters-control-all-of-fallujah","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/2014\/01\/05\/3293\/","title":{"rendered":"Iraq conflict: Sunni fighters ‘control all of Fallujah’"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Iraq government has lost control of the strategic city of Fallujah, west of Baghdad, say officials and witnesses.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Al-Qaeda-linked militants now control the south of the city, a security source told the BBC. An Iraqi reporter there says tribesmen allied with al-Qaeda hold the rest of Fallujah.<\/span>
Fighting there erupted after troops broke up a protest camp by Sunni Arabs in the city of Ramadi on Monday.<\/span>
They have been accusing the Shia-led government of marginalising the Sunnis.<\/span>
The recent fighting in Fallujah and Ramadi has pitted government troops against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isis), which is affiliated with al-Qaeda, and Sunni tribesmen.<\/span>
Local Sunni Arabs have been angered by what they perceive as discrimination by the government of Prime Minister Nouri Maliki.<\/span>
They also say their minority community is being targeted by anti-terrorism measures implemented to stem the surge in sectarian violence.<\/span><\/p>\n

‘Peaceful takeover’<\/strong><\/span>
Late on Saturday, eyewitnesses said al-Qaeda militants were in evidence on the streets of Fallujah, riding pick-up trucks mounted with anti-aircraft guns.<\/span>
Reuters news agency said troops were shelling parts of the city in an effort to retake it.<\/span>
Hadi Razeij, head of the Anbar province police force, was quoted as saying police had left the city centre entirely and were on the city outskirts.<\/span>
“The walls of the city are in the hands of the police force, but the people of Fallujah are the prisoners of Isis,” he told the al-Arabiya satellite channel.<\/span>
Iraqiya state television quoted Mr Maliki as saying: “We will not back down until we end all terrorist groups and save our people in Anbar.”<\/span>
On Tuesday, he agreed to withdraw the army from towns and cities in Anbar province, to allow police to resume control of security.<\/span>
But as soon as soldiers left their posts, militants aligned to al-Qaeda appeared in Ramadi, Fallujah and Tarmiya, storming police stations, freeing prisoners and seizing weapons.<\/span>
The prime minister reversed his decision the next day, sending soldiers back to Anbar.<\/span>
But on Thursday, militants in Ramadi and Fallujah raised black flags on buildings and used the loudspeakers of mosques to call on people to join their struggle and support a “peaceful takeover”.<\/span>
In recent months Sunni militants have stepped up attacks across Iraq, while Shia groups began deadly reprisals – raising fears of a return to full-scale sectarian conflict.<\/span>
On Wednesday, the United Nations said at least 7,818 civilians and 1,050 members of the security forces had been killed in 2013.<\/span>
The annual death toll was the highest in years, but still significantly below those recorded at the height of the insurgency in 2006 and 2007.<\/span><\/p>\n

Source:<\/span> BBC News<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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