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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
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April 29th,
2004 - US Forces to Pull Out of Falluja |
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US Forces to Pull Out of
Falluja By George Wright and agencies The Guardian April 29, 2004 US forces today announced an
end to their siege of Falluja, saying they will pull out immediately to allow
a newly-created, Iraqi security force to secure the city. The new force, known as the
Falluja Protective Army, will consist of up to 1,100 Iraqi soldiers led by a
former general from the military of Saddam Hussein and will begin moving into
the city tomorrow. Lieutenant Colonel Brennan
Byrne said the agreement was reached late last night between US officials and
Falluja police and civilian representatives. "The plan is that the whole
of Falluja will be under the control of the FPA," Lt Col Byrne told the
Associated Press. Under the new agreement,
marines will pull back from their positions in and around Falluja, while the
FPA forms a new cordon around it and then moves into the city. According to
one report, marines in the city's southern industrial area have already begun
packing up gear and loading heavy trucks today after receiving orders to
withdraw. Lt Col Byrne identified the
commander of the FPA as General Salah, a former division commander under
Saddam. The force will be made up of former Iraqi soldiers and police and be
subordinate to the marine 1st Expeditionary Force. Many of the insurgents in
Falluja are thought to be former members of Saddam's regime or military. Last
week, Iraq's top US administrator, Paul Bremer, announced that the new Iraqi
army would start recruiting top former Saddam-era officers who were not
involved in the regime's crimes. Civilian casualties and
images of desperate residents fleeing the relentless onslaught of artillery
and air raids have increased pressure on military commanders to seek
alternatives to an all-out offensive against the besieged city. "Violent military
action by an occupying power against inhabitants of an occupied country will
only make matters worse," the UN secretary-general, Kofi Annan, warned
yesterday. "It's definitely time now for those who prefer restraint and
dialogue to make their voices heard." Mohsen Abdul-Hamid, a member
of the US-appointed Iraqi governing council, has also called for a halt to
attacks on Falluja. He said that if the US refused to stop its offensive, his
Iraqi Islamic party would consider withdrawing from the council. US warplanes yesterday
dropped laser-guided bombs on guerrilla targets as battles broke out in
several parts of the city, including areas that had previously been
relatively quiet. Witnesses reported that at
least 25 buildings had been destroyed. At least 10 people were injured in the
fighting, hospital officials said today. One Falluja resident, Hassan
al-Maadhidi, returned to the city after fleeing earlier fighting, and said he
was distraught when he saw the devastation wrought by the latest onslaught. "I returned to see
houses destroyed, streets empty and shops bombarded," he told the
Associated Press, adding that he was considering fleeing the city again. But US military leaders
insisted the strikes had been limited, targeting only insurgents. US
Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt said: "Even though it may not look like
it, there is still a determined aspiration on the part of the coalition to
maintain a ceasefire and solve the situation in Falluja by peaceful
means." Troops from the 1st Marine
Division surrounded the city nearly three weeks ago after a flare-up in
insurgent attacks on the US-led forces. A series of fierce engagements -
which are believed to have resulted in the death of many civilians in Falluja
- gave way to a fragile truce. The ceasefire finally broke down earlier this
week as violence spiralled and the US called in heavy artillery. While there was no
resumption of the intense bombardment today, news of the withdrawal was
marred by controversy over the shooting of several Iraqi civilians at a
checkpoint. The military said a car
crashed into a razor-wire cordon near the main checkpoint into Falluja and
gunmen inside opened fire with assault rifles on the Americans. US troops returned fire with
a Humvee-mounted heavy machine gun, killing at least three men in the car,
according to Captain James Edge, and injuring another. But al-Jazeera
television said four civilians were killed when their minibus was destroyed
in a hail of fire, in an "unprovoked attack" by marines at the
checkpoint. External link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,1206015,00.html |