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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings, Torture and Big Money |
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December 15th,
2006 - U.S. Troops Raid Hospital Again |
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U.S. Troops Raid Hospital
Again By Dahr Jamail and Ali Al-Fadhily Atlantic Free Press Friday, 15 December 2006 Fallujah, Dec. 14 - Iraqi
doctors and medical staff are outraged over yet another U.S. military raid at
Fallujah General Hospital. The raid followed a roadside
bombing Dec. 7 where four Iraqi policemen were killed and two civilians
injured. The injured were taken to Fallujah General Hospital. Shortly after this attack, a
U.S. Marine who was on a patrol in the city was wounded by a gunshot. "U.S. soldiers replied
to the source of fire then headed straight to the general hospital across the
(Euphrates) river hoping that they had shot and injured the sniper," an
eyewitness told IPS. "American soldiers seem
to have some imagination to think wounded fighters might go to that so-called
hospital," a retired surgeon told IPS. "We know that they do not
trust that place because of the continuous raids by the U.S., and lack of
everything in that hospital." The hospital is functioning at minimal
capacity due to lack of medicines and equipment, the surgeon said. Eyewitnesses at Fallujah
General Hospital said U.S. soldiers raided the hospital "as if it were a
military target." "We panicked at the way
they entered, kicking open doors and blasting locked ones," a nurse told
IPS. "A doctor tried to tell them he had keys for the locked doors, but
they pointed their guns to his face. Then they told us to go out of the
building and they kept us under guard in the garden until the early hours of
next morning." The nurse said the soldiers
"would not even allow us to get some blankets to keep us warm; the
temperature was below five degrees centigrade." Doctors and medical staff
were arrested and insulted, and some were called terrorists, witnesses said.
The hospital was then closed, and could no longer offer even minimal
treatment. "We are used to that
kind of behaviour from American soldiers," a hospital employee told IPS.
"This was the third time I was in handcuffs with my face down. They have
been more vicious with medical staff than others because they consider us the
first supporters of those they call terrorists." The U.S. military said that
Marines from Regimental Combat Team 5 entered Fallujah General Hospital in
order to search for fighters after two Marines were wounded the previous day
in the city. Lt. Col. Bryan Salas, spokesperson for the Multi-National Forces
in Iraq, told reporters: "Coalition forces searched the hospital to
ensure that it continues to be a safe place for the citizens of Fallujah to
receive the medical treatment they deserve." This hospital has been
raided many times before, particularly in the U.S. military assault on the
city April and November 2004. Two years back, on Dec 13,
2004, IPS reported that the U.S. military was impeding Iraqi health workers
around and inside Fallujah, and was deliberately targeting ambulances. In
November 2005 IPS reported that the U.S. military had raided two hospitals in
Ramadi. Many Iraqi doctors have been
arrested by U.S. forces for various periods of time on suspicion of
"supporting terrorism" in Iraq. Many have fled the country for fear
of repeated arrests or even killings by U.S. soldiers or sectarian militia
death squads. The independent Iraq Medical
Association announced last month that of the 34,000 Iraqi physicians
registered prior to 2003, over half have fled the country, and that at least
2,000 have been killed. Article 12 of the first Geneva
Convention states: "(Combatants) who are sick and wounded...shall be
treated humanely and cared for by the Party to the conflict in whose power
they may be..." The article goes on to state that "any attempts on
their lives, or violence to their persons, shall be strictly
prohibited..." Article 24 of the first
Geneva Convention states: "Medical personnel exclusively engaged
in...transport or treatment of the wounded or sick...(and) staff exclusively
engaged in the administration of medical units and establishments...shall be
respected and protected in all circumstances." Under the fourth Geneva
Convention, Article 18 reads: "Civilian hospitals organised to care to
the wounded and sick, infirm and maternity cases, may in no circumstances be
the object of attack, but shall at all times be respected and protected by
the Parties to the conflict." External link: http://www.atlanticfreepress.com/content/view/449/81/ |