Fallujah calm as sides watch, wait

Iraqi forces, al-Qaida fighters, tribesmen set up around city

BAGHDAD - Residents started to trickle back to the besieged city of Fallujah on Friday as militants and government forces both appear to be preparing for a long standoff. Al-Qaida-linked fighters and tribal gunmen camped on the outskirts of the city, with Iraqi army and police stationed nearby.

A tense calm had settled over the city although sporadic street fighting rattled Ramadi and surrounding areas in Sunni-dominated Anbar province, a vast desert region west of Baghdad that was once a major battleground for U.S. troops.

The extremist militants, emboldened by fellow fighters’ gains in the civil war in neighboring Syria, have tried to position themselves as the champions of Iraqi Sunnis angry at the Shiite-led government over what they see as efforts to marginalize them.

Violence spiked after the Dec. 28 arrest of a Sunni lawmaker sought on terrorism charges and the government’s dismantling of a year-old Sunni protest camp in Ramadi, the provincial capital, and Iraqi police were forced to retreat from the city centers as blackmasked gunmen overtook Fallujah and parts of Ramadi last week, burning down police stations and posting guards outside strategic areas.

Iraqi troops have taken up positions in and around both cities but have not launched major urban offensives, fearing that likely civilian casualties could incite Sunni anger and push moderate tribal leaders to side with the extremists.

Defense Ministry spokesman Mohammed al-Askari said Friday that the government’s patience would not last forever.

“If there is no other solution, then the security forces and allied tribal fighters will enter these cities,” al-Askari said.

Clashes broke out againFriday, this time between Iraqi special forces and militants in the village of al-Bubali, between Fallujah and Ramadi.

Roadside bombs planted around the village damaged several army vehicles, a police officer said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media. There was no immediate word on casualties.

Central areas of Fallujah, about 40 miles west of Baghdad, have been calm in recent days, according to accounts from residents and international observers.

Many of the al-Qaida fighters and some armed local tribesmen who want to keep government forces out are now stationed in largely unpopulated areas on theoutskirts of Fallujah, overlooking approaches to the city from the main highway that connects Baghdad with Syria and Jordan.

Many police stations were abandoned after they were torched by militants, and health-care facilities have run short on supplies.

“The government services and medical situation in Fallujah is very bad because of the absence of civil servants and policemen. The tribal gunmen are in control of the city,” said Dhari al-Arsan, deputy governor of Anbar, who lives in Fallujah.

International observers have warned of shortages of food, fuel and other necessities, particularly in Fallujah. United Nations records show that more than 11,000 families have been uprooted by the fighting throughout Anbar.

The U.N. envoy to Iraq, Nickolay Mladenov, described the situation in Fallujah as “very, very fluid” and said the city remains under the control of various armed groups.

“Restoring order to Fallujah, pushing the terrorist elements out of the cities, delivering humanitarian aid: these would be the immediate priorities,” he said.

Pawel Krzysiek, a Baghdad-based spokesman for the International Committee of the Red Cross, said the “humanitarian situation is still dire” in Fallujah. The Red Cross has managed to deliver some emergency supplies in Anbar but needs greater access from all sides to ensure aid gets through, he said.

Determining exactly who all the gunmen are and where their loyalties lie remains a challenge.

In addition to the al-Qaida fighters who overran Fallujah and Ramadi last week, many of whom do not hail from the cities, local anti-government tribesmen have taken up arms. Some claim to oppose al-Qaida’s extremist ideology.

Information for this article was contributed by Sameer N.Yacoub of The Associated Press.

Front Section, Pages 6 on 01/11/2014

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