NEWS FROM THE FRONT
News From The Only Unembedded Reporter In Falluja
Fadhil Badrani - BBC
Inside besieged Falluja
18 October, 2004, 05:46 GMT 06:46 UK - BBC
The mood in the city is grim. It is the start of Ramadan, but there is nowhere to celebrate and no food to celebrate with.
Right now faith is a stronger bond than family
Falluja's most popular kebab restaurant used to be the place to go at the end of the day to break the Ramadan fast - but that was bombed by the Americans this week. Many families have used a lull in the bombing to leave the city. Fighters are engaged in skirmishes with US forces in the eastern and southern areas. US positions are about half a kilometre from Falluja. No single militia force controls the whole city. Different clans in the city have their own militias but they all seem to be working together to fend off US forces. The people of Falluja are very clannish - but they have also always been very religious and right now faith is a stronger bond than family.
Police and militias
Two elements have been running the affairs of the city - the police force and local militias. Relations between the two are good - I have seen policemen on the streets chatting to the fighters. In fact, relations between local fighters and police have always been good - a deal struck some months ago means the police are welcome in the city provided they do not take orders from the Americans. There are more police on the streets than usual - possibly to protect the property of residents who are leaving the city. But the risk of looting is small - the local militias have a reputation for being very tough with the criminals.
No foreign fighters
I am not aware of any foreign fighters in Falluja. If there are any foreigners here, they have blended in very well with the locals. Foreigners used to frequent the city in the past, but many of them were forced to leave under a deal the city's leaders struck with the government. Ninety-nine percent of the fighters here are Fallujans. Local clan leaders are broadly opposed to any kind of foreign presence in the city because they fear they may be spies.
Supplies exhausted
Hospitals have all but run out of supplies and most people know this. But still the injured are being taken there - just so that they can be near the doctors and receive some comfort. The Iraqi health ministry has not sent any extra supplies. Food supplies are also running out. All shops are shut. Some people who fled the city a few days ago have begun returning because they ran out of food. They are coming back even as more and more people are trying to leave.
'Not a sectarian issue'
The ordinary people of Falluja still want a peaceful solution - but they knew war was inevitable when Prime Minister Iyad Allawi issued his ultimatum earlier this week. That's when they started stocking up on food. The people believe they are being targeted because they inflicted heavy casualties on US forces during the siege earlier this year.
They say the Americans are attacking them because of wounded pride They say the Americans are attacking them because of wounded pride. They say they are motivated by revenge. Most people in Falluja believe the Baghdad government is divided into two camps. They believe the president, Ghazi Yawer, is a Sunni and heads the faction that wants to negotiate a solution to the crisis. On the other side, they say, is Prime Minister Allawi, a Shia, who believes military force is the only way ahead. But many people in Falluja, though largely Sunni, dismiss this. They say Mr Allawi may be a Shia, but this is not why he is at war with Falluja. They think he simply gives the order to batter Falluja because this is what the Americans want.
Prayers and tears in Falluja
5 November, 2004, 14:48 GMT - BBC
When I hear bombs falling around my neighbourhood, I keep thinking - any moment now, I could be killed. It is worst during the night, when the bombardment is most intense. If a big bomb lands somewhere nearby, you often hear crying and wailing afterwards. It is a very strange feeling because in between the screaming, there is the sound of more missiles flying. That is when I think - I could be next. Another sound you hear during the bombing is that of prayers. People pray loudly because they are so scared. Sometimes, you hear people say quite unusual things - they improvise, making up their own prayers.
US election
We followed the US elections very closely from Falluja. It was a matter of life and death. Many people were hoping John Kerry would win because they felt he would not have allowed our city to be attacked like this. Of course, we also know that the US policy in Iraq at large is not going to change. We do not forget that George Bush and John Kerry are two sides of the same coin. Still, as far as our city is concerned right now, a Kerry victory would have brought some hope.
Roads blocked
I left my old house in the north of the city a month ago, when the Americans began bombing that area all the time. Now I live with a small group of friends near the centre of Falluja. We are just men here. All our wives and children have left the city - some we sent to Baghdad, others to quieter areas closer by. We cook and eat together and spend most of our time in the house. If you want to leave the house, the safest time to do so is between seven in the morning and one in the afternoon, when the Americans take a break from the bombing. The souk [market] in the centre of Falluja is open from morning to midday and, fortunately, it has not run out of food so far. But I can't see how long the supplies will last - two days ago, the government said it was cutting off the roads from Falluja to Baghdad and Ramadi. I don't know what we will eat then. I guess we might still be able to grab hold of some meat - I've seen a lot of goats in the city. There is only one road out of the city that is still open now - but it runs through a checkpoint manned by US soldiers. We think they're going to cut this route off quite soon as well.
Hospitals
A lot of people have left Falluja. Mostly only men remain. This used to be a city of 500,000 people. Now, my guess is there are about 100,000 still here. Some people who tried to leave earlier on found they had to come back because there was no way of surviving away from their homes. Iraq is a difficult place to live at the moment. There are not many opportunities. The hospitals I have seen are full of people but empty of supplies and medicine. The erratic electricity also makes operating difficult. Ten to 18 new cases are brought in every day. The injured know they won't get much treatment. They come just to be near the doctor, to hear the doctor talk to them.
Taking cover in Falluja
8 November, 2004, 17:43 GMT - BBC
For people in the city, life has become even more extreme. Food is in short supply and the shops are all closed in anticipation of the looming attack. Electricity is cut off because of damage to the main power station from the bombardment. The water supply has been cut off too. The roads are now heavily cratered. People, particularly children and women, tend to stay at home, fearing being mistaken for a military target. Doctors say medical supplies at the main hospital, which has been in American hands since Sunday, are low. Most of the city's population has left, some for other parts of Iraq, others, I hear have left the country altogether for neighbouring Arab counties. Economic life here has been way down since the first siege last April. This has meant that most people are suffering desperate financial difficulties and many are living in Baghdad with family. Rents in Baghdad have shot up, partly because of refugees from Falluja.
'Watching tragedy engulf my city'
9 November, 2004, 14:12 GMT - BBC
I am surrounded by thick black smoke and the smell of burning oil. There was a big explosion a few minutes ago and now I can hear gunfire. A US armoured vehicle has been parked on the street outside my house in the centre of the city. From my window, I can see US soldiers moving around on foot near it. They tried to go from house to house but they kept coming under fire. Now they are firing back at the houses, at anything that moves. It is war on the streets. The American troops look like they have given up trying to go into buildings for now and are just trying to control the main roads. I am sitting here on my own, watching tragedy engulf my city.
Looks like Kabul
I was with some of the Falluja fighters earlier. They looked tired - but their spirits were high and they were singing. Recently, many Iraqis from other parts of the country have been joining the local men against the Americans. No one has had much sleep in the past two days of heavy fighting and of course, it is still Ramadan, so no one eats during the day. I cannot say how many people have been killed but after two days of bombing, this city looks like Kabul. Large portions of it have been destroyed but it is so dangerous to leave the house that I have not been able to find out more about casualties.
Mosques silent
A medical dispensary in the city centre was bombed earlier. I don't know what has happened to the doctors and patients who were there. It was last place you could get medical attention because the big hospital on the outskirts of Falluja was captured by the Americans on Monday. A lot of the mosques have also been bombed. For the first time in Falluja, a city of 1,200 mosques, I did not hear a single call to prayer this morning. I broke my Ramadan fast yesterday with the last of our food - two potatoes and two tomatoes. The tomatoes were rotten because we have no electricity to run the fridge. My neighbours - a woman and her children - came to see me yesterday. They asked me to tell the world what is happening here. I look at the devastation around me and ask - why?
Defiance amid carnage
10 November, 2004, 15:13 GMT - BBC
I went for a walk around the city last night after the Americans pulled back. It was very quiet - often the only sounds coming from the movement of fighters along streets and rooftops. In places, it was also very dark, with only the occasional rocket or flare lighting the way. Wherever I went, I found broken buildings and bodies - local people and fighters killed on the streets.
Clutching weapons
I also saw four crippled US tanks and three abandoned Humvees. In the Hasbiyyah area, I counted the bodies of at least six US soldiers lying on the ground. Some of them were badly mangled with various bits blown off. Others were in better condition, as if they had taken small-arms fire. I noticed two of the US soldiers were still clutching their guns tightly across their chests. But most of their weapons were missing. Some of the dead are beginning to rot in the streets. But the living do not exactly smell great either - I have not had a bath for a week. Nor have I shaved. There is no real rest here, day or night.
Jolan flashpoint
The US brought in a very big force on Wednesday morning. The mosques no longer broadcast the daily call to prayer but nor are they silent. Every time a big bomb lands nearby, the cry rises from the minarets: "Allahu Akbar" [God is great]. The worst fighting is to the north of the city, in the Jolan district. This is where a lot of the fighters have been based. Incidentally, it is also where US security guards were ambushed in April, leading to the first siege of Falluja. I think it is misleading to say the US controls 70% of the city because the fighters are constantly on the move. They go from street to street, attacking the army in some places, letting them through elsewhere so that they can attack them later. The fighters have told me they are prepared to resist the Americans until the death. They say they are fighting not just for Falluja, but for all Iraq. They express confidence that they will win in the end. They say the idea is to inflict enough casualties on the American troops to force them to reconsider their mission.
Smoke and corpses
11 November, 2004, 22:21 GMT - BBC
A row of palm trees used to run along the street outside my house - now only the trunks are left. The upper half of each tree has vanished, blown away by mortar fire. From my window, I can also make out that the minarets of several mosques have been toppled. There are more and more dead bodies on the streets and the stench is unbearable. Smoke is everywhere.
Sleeping through bombardment
A house some doors from mine was hit during the bombardment on Wednesday night. A 13-year-old boy was killed. His name was Ghazi. I tried to flee the city last night but I could not get very far. It was too dangerous. I am getting used to the bombardment. I have learnt to sleep through the noise - the smaller bombs no longer bother me. Without water and electricity, we feel completely cut off from everyone else. I only found out Yasser Arafat had died because the BBC rang me. It is hard to know how much people outside Falluja are aware of what is going on here. I want them to know about conditions inside this city - there are dead women and children lying on the streets. People are getting weaker from hunger. Many are dying from their injuries because there is no medical help left in the city whatsoever. Some families have started burying their dead in their gardens.
Iraqi soldiers
There has been a lot of resistance in Jolan. The Americans have taken over several high-rise buildings overlooking the district. But the height has not helped them control the area because the streets of Jolan are very narrow and you cannot fire into them directly. The US military moves along the main roads and avoids the side-streets. The soldiers do not leave their armoured vehicles and tanks. If they get fired on, they fire back from their tanks or call in air-strikes. I saw some Iraqi government soldiers on the ground earlier. I don't know which part of the country these soldiers are from. They are definitely not from any of the western provinces such as al-Anbar. I have heard people say they are from Kurdistan. They are well co-ordinated. When the US forces pull back from an area, the Iraqi soldiers will take over there.
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