| URGENT: Falluja Massacre Update. Eyewitnes Accounts. Please Take Action! | |
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by Ewa Jasiewicz (via marais) Saturday April 10, 2004 at 10:38 AM |
I just spoke to friends in Baghdad - Paola Gaspiroli, Italian, from
Occupation watch and Bridges to Baghdad, Journalist Leigh Gordon,
England, (NUJ, Tribune, Mail on Sunday) and a Palestinian friend with
family in Falluja and friends in the Iraqi Islamic Party. Both he and
Leigh have been ferrying out the injured from Falluja to Baghdad for the
past three days. Ambulances have been barred from entry into the
blood-drenched city.
Here is their news, which they told me over the telephone tonight
(Friday)
Paola:
There has been a massacre in Falluga. Falluga is under siege. 470 people
have been killed, and 1700 injured. There has been no ceasefire. They
(Americans) told people to leave, said they have 8 hours to leave and
people began to leave but they’re trapped in the Desert. The Americans
have been bombing with B52s (Confirmed also by Leigh in an email three
days ago). Bridges to Baghdad are pulling out. We have flights booked out
of Amman. Tomorow a team will go to Sadr City to deliver medicines. 50
people have been killed there. ?? (Forgotten name) the 'elastic' shiekh
in Sadr City (I’ve met him, young, brilliant guy, describes himself as
'elastic' because he is so flexible when it comes to his interpretations
of Islam and moral conduct definitions etc, he's pretty liberal) he has
told me I should leave. He says that even he can't control his people.
Foreigners are going to be targeted. 6 new foreigners have been taken
hostage. Four of them are Italian security firm employees - they were
kidnapped from their car, which was found to be full of weapons, and
there were black uniforms. Baghdad was quiet today except for Abu Ghraib
(West Baghdad, where a vast prison is located and is bursting at the
seams with 12,000 prisoners) an American convoy was attacked there and 9
soldiers were injured and 27 were kidnapped. That’s right 27. None of the
newswires are reporting it though. And I heard this from (*name best not
to supply without permission). Its really really bad. They (Americans)
have been firing on Ambulances, snipers are following the ambulances,
they cannot get in.
Falluga, there are people in the Desert, they've left Falluga but they're
not being allowed into Baghdad, they're trapped in the Dessert, they're
like refugees, its terrible but the people, Iraqi people are giving all
they can; they’re bringing supplies, everybody is giving all their help
and support to Falluga.
I want to stay but I have to go, if I want to come back and be useful,
you know I think its best to leave, Bridges to Baghdad has decided this.
It’s getting really dangerous for Italians. We feel like we’re being
targeted now. (Italy has a 2500+ force including Carabinieri occupying
Nassiriyah which has been subject to a number of resistance attacks
including the devastating attack on the Police station which claimed the
lives of 4 soldiers, one civilian, one documentary film maker, 12
Carabinieri police and 8 Iraqis).
(…) and Leigh have been great. They’ve been driving into Falluga and
bringing out people, going back and forth. They know what’s going on,
really they have been great. They want more people to help them but we
couldn’t from here. It’s getting much much worse.
ends
My friend who’s been in Falluga today and for the past few days:
We’ve been seeing it with our own eyes. People were told to leave Falluga
and now there are thousands trapped in the Desert. There is a 13 km long
convoy of people trying to reach Baghdad. The Americans are firing bombs,
everything, everything they have on them. They are firing on Families!
They are all children, old men and women in the dessert. Other Iraqi
people are trying to help them. In Falluga they (Americans) have been
bombing hospitals. Children are being evacuated to Baghdad. There is a
child now, a baby, he had 25 members of his family killed, he’s in the
hospital and someone needs to be with him, why isn’t anyone there to stay
with him, he just lost 25 from his family!??? The Americans are dropping
cluster bombs and new mortars, which jump 3-4 metres. They are bombing
from the air. There are people lying dead in the streets. They said
there’d be a ceasefire and then they flew in, I saw them, and they began
to bomb. They are fighting back and they are fighting well in Falluga.
But we are expecting the big attack in 24-48 hours. It will be the main
attack. They will be taking the town street by street and searching and
attacking. They did this already in a village near-by, I forget the name,
but they will be doing this in Falluja. Please get help, get people to
protest, get them to go to the Embassies, get them out, get them to do
something. There is a massacre. And we need foreigners, the foreigners
can do something. We are having a protest, Jo (Jo Wilding
http://www.wildfirejo.org.uk) and the others from her group are coming to the
American checkpoint tomorrow. We haven’t slept in 3 or 4 days. We need
attention. I have photos, film, we’ve given it to Al jazeera, Al Arabiya
but get it out too. Do everything you can. We are going back in tomorrow.
Leigh Gordon: It’s kicking off. Come by all means but me and (..)
probably won’t be around. I mean they’re going to crazy. (…) is saying
for foreigners to come but its not safe. Sheikh …. from Falluga said he
couldn’t guarantee my safety. I mean its going to go crazy, I think
foreigners will start getting killed soon – I mean people are going to
start getting desperate, when they’ve seen their mother father, house,
cat, dog, everything bombed they’re going to start to attack. They
(Americans) have said this operations only going to last 5 days’ it’s
drawing to an end. They need to free up troops on other fronts breaking
out all over the country. They’re going to go in for the kill. There’s no
way of guaranteeing anybody’s safety. I think you can be useful but its
not like you can just not tell your mum and think you’ll be back in a
week. We’re probably going to get killed tomorrow. Come, but we might not
be here.
