Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Seven years after sieges, Fallujah struggles



With their city largely destroyed by two US military assaults, residents of Fallujah continue to suffer.

Dahr Jamail
Al-Jazeera

"Fallujah, Iraq - Fallujah still bears the scars of war; skeletons continue to be pulled from the rubble of bombed buildings, and, worse, rates of birth defects and childhood malformations have skyrocketed.

There is evidence of reconstruction, but shortages of electricity and clean water remain prevalent. The overall mood in the city is one of anger, hopelessness, and fear....

Resistance continues

Contributing to instability in the city are armed groups that continue to operate inside and outside the city.

In 2004 Fallujah became known as the city of resistance, since for a time it was the only unoccupied place in Iraq. Residents and resistance fighters fought hard during the two US sieges to defend their homes and their cities, causing Fallujah to be seen throughout much of the region as a symbol of resistance to American hegemony.

A resistance fighter who asked to be referred to as Ahmed said his movement is growing in Fallujah. He said it will continue to launch attacks against the on-going US presence in Baghdad.

Ahmed, who fought against occupation forces during both of the US attacks on Fallujah in 2004, said that resistance continues because "what the Americans left us is an Iranian occupation".

"We learned not to trust the words and promises of the Americans," he said. "They say they left, but have over 10,000 people at their embassy. This means they have not left our country."....."

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