13.11.04
BBC
**When the americans say 'stabilising' the country before elections, they mean killing anyone and everyone who would not vote for the puppet government.
Aid enters embattled Iraqi city
Red Crescent lorries are taking supplies from Baghdad to Falluja
A convoy of emergency supplies has entered the war-torn city of Falluja, amid fears of a humanitarian crisis.
The Iraqi Red Crescent lorries are carrying the first humanitarian goods to reach the city since a US-led assault began five days ago.
US and Iraqi government forces are battling insurgents in Falluja, where civilians are reported to be trapped without drinking water or electricity.
More than 1,000 rebels have been killed in the assault, an Iraqi official said.
Hundreds more have been captured, according to National Security Adviser Kasim Daoud.
"The city smells of explosives and decaying flesh.
Fadhil Badrani
Iraqi journalist in Falluja
Click here to read his eyewitness account
He said the Falluja operation was "accomplished".
"What is left is evil pockets which we are dealing with now," Mr Daoud said.
He added that militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, whose group has claimed attacks across Iraq and a series of hostage beheadings, had escaped from the city - which he was said to be using as an operating base.
The BBC's Paul Wood, with US marines in the centre of the city, says the US-led forces have cornered most of the rebels in a narrow strip just south of the main road.
'Medical crisis'
The five trucks carrying relief supplies left the capital Baghdad for Falluja, 50km (32 miles) to the west, with no guarantee that they could enter the city.
The US military and the Iraqi interim government had earlier refused permission for the convoy to enter Falluja. But permission was granted on Saturday afternoon, Red Crescent spokeswoman Fardous al-Ubaidi said.
"The people inside Falluja are dying and starving, they need us," she said.
"It is our duty as a humanitarian agency to do our job for these people in these circumstances."
Latest reports speak of a typhoid outbreak.
The main hospital is cut off from the rest of the city and doctors are said to be treating the injured with nothing but bandages, if they can reach them at all.
In other developments:
* The Iraqi government sends extra troops to the northern city of Mosul to quell violence that has flared in recent days
* An influential group of Sunni clerics, the Association of Muslim Scholars, says three of its leading members have been arrested by Iraqi security forces in raids in the Baghdad area
* Iraqi authorities extend a ban on civilian air traffic over the capital
* In Ramadi, near Falluja, clashes continue between US troops and insurgents
* A number of heavy explosions rock central Baghdad
'Catastrophe'
Our correspondent says the unit he is with has seen few civilians, presumably because they are hiding in terror.
The Red Crescent convoy entered Falluja, reportedly carrying food, blankets, first-aid kits, medicine and a water purification unit.
"I was in the middle of death in April, with bullets whizzing past me and I survived," said Mohamad Farihan, one of the volunteer truck drivers.
He was referring to a major three-week battle between US forces and militants in Falluja.
The US-led assault on Falluja is aimed at taking back control from insurgents and stabilising the country before planned elections in January.
US forces say 22 Americans and five Iraqis have been killed, and almost 180 US soldiers wounded, since the assault began on Monday.
Marines say they have detained 150 insurgents, including more than 50 from Iran, Syria, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan.
Tens of thousands of civilians fled Falluja before the US-led assault, but up to 50,000 people are thought to have stayed.
The Red Crescent is also concerned about the thousands of people living in camps and villages outside the city.
**When the americans say 'stabilising' the country before elections, they mean killing anyone and everyone who would not vote for the puppet government.
Aid enters embattled Iraqi city
Red Crescent lorries are taking supplies from Baghdad to Falluja
A convoy of emergency supplies has entered the war-torn city of Falluja, amid fears of a humanitarian crisis.
The Iraqi Red Crescent lorries are carrying the first humanitarian goods to reach the city since a US-led assault began five days ago.
US and Iraqi government forces are battling insurgents in Falluja, where civilians are reported to be trapped without drinking water or electricity.
More than 1,000 rebels have been killed in the assault, an Iraqi official said.
Hundreds more have been captured, according to National Security Adviser Kasim Daoud.
"The city smells of explosives and decaying flesh.
Fadhil Badrani
Iraqi journalist in Falluja
Click here to read his eyewitness account
He said the Falluja operation was "accomplished".
"What is left is evil pockets which we are dealing with now," Mr Daoud said.
He added that militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, whose group has claimed attacks across Iraq and a series of hostage beheadings, had escaped from the city - which he was said to be using as an operating base.
The BBC's Paul Wood, with US marines in the centre of the city, says the US-led forces have cornered most of the rebels in a narrow strip just south of the main road.
'Medical crisis'
The five trucks carrying relief supplies left the capital Baghdad for Falluja, 50km (32 miles) to the west, with no guarantee that they could enter the city.
The US military and the Iraqi interim government had earlier refused permission for the convoy to enter Falluja. But permission was granted on Saturday afternoon, Red Crescent spokeswoman Fardous al-Ubaidi said.
"The people inside Falluja are dying and starving, they need us," she said.
"It is our duty as a humanitarian agency to do our job for these people in these circumstances."
Latest reports speak of a typhoid outbreak.
The main hospital is cut off from the rest of the city and doctors are said to be treating the injured with nothing but bandages, if they can reach them at all.
In other developments:
* The Iraqi government sends extra troops to the northern city of Mosul to quell violence that has flared in recent days
* An influential group of Sunni clerics, the Association of Muslim Scholars, says three of its leading members have been arrested by Iraqi security forces in raids in the Baghdad area
* Iraqi authorities extend a ban on civilian air traffic over the capital
* In Ramadi, near Falluja, clashes continue between US troops and insurgents
* A number of heavy explosions rock central Baghdad
'Catastrophe'
Our correspondent says the unit he is with has seen few civilians, presumably because they are hiding in terror.
The Red Crescent convoy entered Falluja, reportedly carrying food, blankets, first-aid kits, medicine and a water purification unit.
"I was in the middle of death in April, with bullets whizzing past me and I survived," said Mohamad Farihan, one of the volunteer truck drivers.
He was referring to a major three-week battle between US forces and militants in Falluja.
The US-led assault on Falluja is aimed at taking back control from insurgents and stabilising the country before planned elections in January.
US forces say 22 Americans and five Iraqis have been killed, and almost 180 US soldiers wounded, since the assault began on Monday.
Marines say they have detained 150 insurgents, including more than 50 from Iran, Syria, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan.
Tens of thousands of civilians fled Falluja before the US-led assault, but up to 50,000 people are thought to have stayed.
The Red Crescent is also concerned about the thousands of people living in camps and villages outside the city.
