Aid still urgently needed in Fallujah

"Please tell them to come back, we don't have another person to help us, we need food and my children are sick, they have to try again," Rasha Omar, a mother of five in Fallujah, told IRIN after finding out that the Iraqi Red Crescent Society (IRCS) couldn't deliver food to the city. After reaching Fallujah's main hospital on Saturday, the IRCS couldn't get to the centre of the city to deliver food and medical supplies. The NGO left the hospital area on Tuesday morning taking supplies to Amrya near Fallujah, where almost 3,500 displaced families have fled. "We didn't get authorisation from the US-led forces to go into the city and afraid that we would lose our supplies we preferred to leave and deliver to those who are also in need around Fallujah," Firdoos al-Abadi, spokeswoman for the IRCS, told IRIN. Al-Abadi added that the situation was critical in the Saqlawiyah and Garma, villages around Fallujah which are currently home to nearly 5,000 displaced families. The IRCS intends to send a food convoy to those areas on Thursday morning, along with another convoy for Amrya. Fallujah, which lies 65 km west of Baghdad, has been under seige for 10 days as US-led troops battle against insurgents. The city is largely under US control with the exception of some pockets in the south, where mortar attacks were launched on Wednesday morning. The IRCS has appealed to the UN for help to reach residents left in Fallujah who are desperate for humanitarian aid. "The UN is our last chance," al-Abadi said. Families still inside the city are asking for help to flee. "I want to leave here, I cannot stand this situation anymore, I am tired and we need food and water, I cannot bear sounds of bullets anymore," local residient Abbas al-Sabri told IRIN. Colonel John Ballard, the officer in charge of the US marines humanitarian effort, told IRIN that he was sceptical about the humanitarian crisis announced by the IRCS and had come to the city to see for himself. "The US troops are able to deliver any supplies to the people here and haven't seen civilians in trouble," he added. But residents speaking to IRIN said that conditions were bad. "My son is bleeding and I cannot take him to the hospital. He was wounded by shrapnel last night and my other sons are sick, most of them with chronic diarrhea," Jalal Taha, a father of seven in Fallujah told IRIN as he broke down in tears. Another resident said that he had seen 22 bodies being buried, two of which were children. Some of the bodies had been found rotting and had been mauled by stray dogs and cats, he said. On Tuesday, the Kadhmiya Hospital in Baghdad received almost 30 wounded people, among them children. Each hospital room has four patients and their familes, causing severe overcrowding. They say they have nowhere else to go. But the hospital is unable to cope and has asked NGOs to help solve the problem. Many others have fled to Baghdad and are living in open areas in the city. In one of the capital's most respectable districts, women could be seen cooking in the street, with girls washing dishes and children running around. Nearly 150 families who have fled Fallujah are staying in a camp at the entrance of the Baghdad International Fair, in Mansour district. They have received help from the IRCS and other NGOs in the capital. According to one of the displaced, many more families will join them in the coming days. The International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) in conjunction with the Association of Islamic Aid, on Tuesday sent a 50-truck convoy carrying milk, dates, wheat and clothes to the village of Saqlawiyah where thousands of displaced are staying, ICRC spokesman Ahmed Rawi told IRIN, but more is needed. However, the Iraqi authorities deny that Fallujah residents are suffering severe difficulties. In an interview with Arabya Television on Tuesday, interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi said the situation in the city was under control and that there was no humanitarian crisis. He also claimed that only insurgents had been affected by the attacks, adding that he believed no civilians had been killed. But witness accounts appeared to contradict him. "Whoever is inside [the city] can see what a disaster Fallujah is, death and bleeding everywhere, human beings killed on the streets everywhere you look, my father of 85 years old is one of them. Is it what they call democracy?" Ahmed Haj, a resident who managed to escape from the fighting on Tuesday morning, asked.