Iraqis running out of food, medicine in Falluja

Iraqi official has appealed to the US-led coalition to airdrop food and medicine to tens of thousands of civilians trapped in Fal-luja, the ISIS stronghold under siege by security forces. The city’s population is suffering from a shortage of food, medicine and fuel, according to residents reached by phone, and local media said several people had died due to starvation and insufficient medical care. Insecurity and poor communication inside the city make those reports difficult to verify.

Sohaib al-Rawi, the governor of western Anbar province where Falluja is located, said an airdrop was the only way to deliver humanitarian supplies to residents after ISIS mined the entrances to the city and prevented civilians from leaving.

“No force can enter and secure (the delivery) ... There is no option but for airplanes to transport aid,” he said in an interview to al-Hadath TV late on Monday, adding the situation was deteriorating by the day.

Falluja, a long-time bastion of Sunni Muslim jihadists located 50 km west of Baghdad, was the first Iraqi city to fall to ISIS in January 2014, six months before the group that emerged from Al Qaeda swept through large parts of northern and western Iraq and neighbouring Syria.

The Iraqi Army, the pol-ice and Iranian-backed Shia militia have together imposed a near total siege on Falluja since late 2015. After recapturing the city of Ramadi (a further 50 km to the west) from ISIS in December, Iraqi authorities have not made clear whether they will attempt to take Falluja next or lea-ve it contained while the bulk of their forces head north towards Mosul, the largest city under the militants’ control.

The US-led coalition estimates there are around 400 ISIS fighters in Falluja, though some military analysts put the figure closer to 1,000. The coalition, which includes European and Arab powers, has not previously committed significant resources to humanitarian operations.