IRAQ: FALLUJA RESIDENTS TAKE ADVANTAGE OF END IN FIGHTING TO VISIT THEIR LOVED ONES IN CITY'S NEW GRAVEYARD

Record ID: 376213

  • Title: IRAQ: FALLUJA RESIDENTS TAKE ADVANTAGE OF END IN FIGHTING TO VISIT THEIR LOVED ONES IN CITY'S NEW GRAVEYARD
  • Date: 20th April 2004
  • Summary: (W5) FALLUJA, IRAQ (APRIL 20, 2004) (REUTERS) 1. PAN: GRAVEYARD FOR VICTIMS OF U.S. SHELLING 0.09 2. TOMBSTONES OF THREE CHILDREN 0.28 3. MAN CRYING BESIDE GRAVE 0.24 4. MAN RECITING HOLY QU'RAN IN FRONT OF GRAVE 0.31 5. WS: NEWLY DUG GRAVES 0.36 6. BANNER READING "GRAVEYARD OF FALLUJA VICTIMS" 0.42 7. WRECKA
  • Embargoed: 5th May 2004 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: FALLUJA, IRAQ
  • Country: Iraq
  • Reuters ID: LVA1GTH9YTGK9M2BAX6GLETCR9B9
  • Story Text: Residents of the Iraqi city of Falluja city take
    advantage of end of fighting to visit their loved ones in
    the city's new graveyard.



    Families returning to Fallujah on Tuesday (April 20, 2004)
    visited their loved ones who were killed in the U.S.

    bombing of the city as a truce held in the Sunni bastion 50
    kilometres west of Baghdad.

    Returnees stood crying beside fresh graves in the
    city's one time soccer field, which was turned into a
    graveyard. Some of the graves contained more than one body
    as indicated by tombstones erected beside the newly-dug
    graves.

    The city streets were almost deserted and traces of the
    fierce battles, which the city witnessed over the past two
    weeks, were visible everywhere.

    Rubble was scattered over the road and many houses
    showed signs of damage while
    wrecked cars were left abandoned.

    Fawzi Muhammed, who is also member of the city's local
    council who helped to negotiate between the local
    insurgents and U.S. marines was optimistic that peace would
    hold.

    "After the end of the fighting, the two sides sat in
    the negotiation table and started to implement what they
    have agreed up on and the families were allowed to return to
    the city to start normal life," he said.

    Iraqi police were back on to duty and were deployed to
    the city streets together with members of Iraqi Civil
    Defence Corpse( ICDC) to carry out joint patrols with the
    U.S. forces.

    There was no sign of U.S. forces in centre of the city.

    "Thanks God the Iraqi civil defence corps and Iraqi
    police force were allowed back into the city of Falluja to
    shoulder their tasks," said a member of the
    ICDC.

    Earlier civilians who had fled battles between U.S.

    Marines and Sunni insurgents trickled back to Falluja on
    foot, though vehicles were turned back at checkpoints.

    Thousands of Iraqis had left Falluja, west of Baghdad,
    to escape fierce clashes in which hundreds of civilians and
    dozens of Marines were killed earlier this month.

    The returnees were venturing back a day after the U.S.

    military said it would not resume offensive operations in
    Falluja on condition rebels give up their heavy weapons.
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