The Iraqi Red Crescent Society has delivered aid for the first time directly to families stranded by fighting in Falluja. A Red Crescent team delivered food and water to five families in a battered northern Falluja neighbourhood on Thursday after US marines patrolling the area found them hiding in their homes. The organisation estimates that only 150 to 175 families stayed in Falluja after the start of the US-led offensive on 8 November, and civilians living in the ruined city have become desperate for water and blankets.
| Prob'ly shoulda thought about that when they were harboring the terrs and hollering "Allan akbar!" |
Red Crescent officials met on Thursday with US marine Lieutenant-Colonel Gary Montgomery to discuss cooperative aid efforts. Aid convoys were able to enter Falluja on Wednesday and Monday, but only toured the town, and were unable to move freely and find any of the civilians who needed assistance. Red Crescent efforts to assist civilians still in Falluja have been frustrated by ongoing military operations, and the agency's coordinator for Falluja, Jotiar Nafaa, said getting out into the town to assess how many people need help is the main priority. "It should start going better," Montgomery said after Thursday's meeting. "We weren't getting the information we needed from them so they weren't getting what they needed from us and were getting frustrated." |