The US army is back in Falluja to complete unfinished business "Falluja has become like hell. Every minute hundreds of bombs explode," said Fadil Al- Badrani, one of the few Iraqi journalists who has remained in the city. As the US occupation, assisted by British forces and American-trained Iraqi soldiers, unleashed its ruthless military machine against the city, concerns were growing over the fate of the city's civilian population. Reports of an imminent humanitarian crisis emerged as US forces cut off electricity to the city and blocked all roads leading into and out of Falluja. "We are not going to know the impact on the civilian population for some time," one Iraqi observer told Al-Ahram Weekly. Until US attacks on the city last April forced many families to flee, Falluja was home to 300,000 people. No one is sure how many remain in the city. Operation Angry Ghost has been roundly condemned by many Iraqi political groups. The Iraqi Islamic party, a prominent Sunni group, announced that its single cabinet member, the Industry Minister Hajim Al-Hassanim, was resigning from the Iraqi interim government in protest against the assault. The Association of Muslim Scholars, another Sunni group, called on Iraqi soldiers not to participate in the fighting against "their brothers in Falluja". Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, who has maintained a tough line against Iraqi resistance groups, has become the subject of increasingly harsh criticism, and on Wednesday three members of his family were kidnapped in retaliation for the attacks. While Iraqi government officials insist the assault will pave the way for elections in January many political forces have threatened to boycott the elections in response. Up to 15,000 US, British and Iraqi troops rolled into Falluja, backed by tanks, artillery and aircraft. On Wednesday it was reported that US troops were in control of 70 per cent of the city and that resistance was "lighter than expected". Unconfirmed reports suggest that Abu Musaab Al-Zaraqwi, the Jordanian militant whom the Americans claim is behind much of the violence in Iraq, has fled the city. In a press briefing General Thomas Metz, the multinational ground force commander in Iraq said he believed "the most wanted man in Iraq had escaped Falluja." US forces report 10 deaths among US troops and two among the Iraqi security force. There has been no information on Iraqi casualties, though given the extent of the bombardment they are likely to be high. Mohamed Amer, a doctor at a clinic in Falluja, said he had witnessed 12 fatalities, and a further 17 wounded, including a five-year- old girl and a 10-year-old boy. The city has effectively been subject to a media blackout. The only reports emerging come from reporters embedded with US troops or from the handful of Iraqi journalists who remained in the city. "This is a military offensive that is effectively closed to the media except for the people who are embedded. As far as journalism is concerned the shutters have come down," one observer told the Guardian newspaper.
