Iraqi MP: Many civilians killed in Fallujah operation

By Haydar Hadi
BAGHDAD (AA) – Arshad al-Salihi, the head of the Iraqi parliament’s human rights committee, said that many civilians have been killed in the ongoing Fallujah operation as a result of Iraqi army airstrikes.
In an interview with Anadolu Agency published Friday, Salihi, who is also the head of the Iraqi Turkmen Front, said that there are tens of thousands of civilians living in Fallujah.
He added that they are suffering from the Daesh terrorist group and are also struggling to survive amid the random airstrikes by the Iraqi forces.
“These people are stuck between Daesh and the Iraqi army’s airstrikes,” Salihi said, asserting that the government did not yet provide civilians a safe exit route from the area.
On May 23, Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi announced the launch of a military campaign to retake control of Fallujah from Daesh with the participation of the Iraqi army, counter-terrorism units, the federal police, the Hashd al-Shaabi militia and tribal fighters.
“It would be better for the civilians of Mosul and Tal Afar to abandon both cities for the time being,” Salihi warned, saying they may face the same fate of Fallujah’s civilians during similar operations.
Located along the Euphrates River about 50 kilometers (31 miles) west of Baghdad, Fallujah – which fell to Daesh in early 2014 – is currently home to some 90,000 people.