US forces continue to attack Falluja
Saturday 10 April 2004, 16:35 Makka Time, 13:35 GMT
Occupation forces have continued to attack Falluja, with US warplanes striking twice
early on Saturday, and also hours after a truce offer. In Baghdad an Iraqi is killed
by tank fire and an Abrams tank and a trailer truck destroyed in separate incidents.
Aljazeera's correspondent said the planes struck at 12:50am (20:50 GMT) and 03:30am
(23:30 GMT). Several bombs were dropped on different parts of the town. He said the
Golan area came under fierce bombardment hours after US forces had offered a ceasefire.
The western part of the town also came under fierce mortar attack. Witnesses told
Aljazeera four houses were targeted in the Golan area.
The number of casualties could not yet be confirmed as ambulances were still
transporting victims to the hospital.
In response to the attacks, resistance fighters launched two mortar attacks on US
sites east of the Euphrates, the correspondent said.
Many families had gathered in the centre of the town, seeking a way out after being
sealed off for the sixth consecutive day.
The director of Falluja's main hospital said on Friday about 450 people had been
killed and 1000 wounded since the marines launched their operation.
Hospital officials in Falluja said Friday's fighting with US occupation forces there
had killed nine people and wounded 35.
Ceasefire offered
Kimmitt said ceasefire might be
in place at 08:00 GMT on Saturday
Meanwhile, US forces on Saturday offered the resistance in Falluja a ceasefire to
allow for peace talks.
"Coalition forces are prepared to implement a ceasefire with enemy elements in Falluja
commencing at noon today (08:00 GMT)," Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt, a US military
spokesman, told a news conference in Baghdad.
"At this point it's an aspiration. We are hoping to use this press conference ... to
get this message to the enemy."
IGC calls
The occupation force's offer comes as Iraq's US-appointed Governing Council on
Saturday urged an immediate ceasefire in Falluja, criticising the US drive against the
resistance as "collective punishment" of civilians as well.
"We call for an immediate ceasefire and for resorting to political solutions for
situations in some parts of the country, particularly in the city of Falluja"
Iraqi Governing Council statement
"We call for an immediate ceasefire and for resorting to political solutions for
situations in some parts of the country, particularly in the city of Falluja," the
interim council said in a statement.
The statement called for speeding up the process of transferring power from the US-led
occupation to Iraqis and an end to all armed presences across the country.
Resignation threats
The council urged the adoption of policies to fight unemployment and resolve social
and economic problems in Iraq, instead of "facing security problems with military and
police ways."
Pachachi: We consider action by
US forces as illegal
Angry members of the interim council on Friday threatened to resign if American forces
did not halt their bloody offensive in Falluja.
Even Adnan Pachachi, widely seen as the most pro-American member of the 25-member
council, was incensed by the violence in Fallujah.
"We consider the action carried out by US forces as illegal and totally unacceptable,"
he said.
Speaking to Aljazeera, IGC member and spokesman for the Iraqi Islamic party Hakim
al-Hasni also called on fighters in Falluja to halt "military actions".
"US forces in Falluja claim their attacks come in retaliation for the resistance they
meet," al-Hasni said. "Therefore, I call upon you (fighters in Falluja), on behalf of
the Islamic party, to stop military action in order to prevent bloodshed and give us
an opportunity to transfer the injured, bury the killed people and send humanitarian
aid to the city," he added.
Baghdad attacks
In Baghdad, an Iraqi was killed on Saturday when a US tank opened fire at a group of
citizens trying to protect al-Rawda al-Kadhimiya (Imam Kadhim shrine) in Baghdad,
according to Aljazeera's correspondent.
The truck was part of a US military
convoy when attacked
Also, a US Abrams tank and a trailer truck were on fire after two separate attacks
near Baghdad airport on Saturday.
The tank was left burning at al-Adil crossroad on the way to the airport, he said. US
troops cordoned off the area, preventing journalists from approaching.
Nearby, a trailer truck, which was part of a US military convoy, was hit earlier on
Saturday by a rocket-propelled grenade, witnesses said. Other reports said the truck
had been hit by a roadside bomb.
Elsewhere in Baghdad, heavy exchanges of fire raged on Saturday between US troops and
fighters.
Blasts and gunfire were heard around a former presidential palace used as a US
military base in the Aadhamiya neighbourhood. Smoke was seen billowing into the sky.
US troops cordoned off the entire neighbourhood, preventing access by journalists.
In Baquba, north of Baghdad, a strike is underway at all official departments in
protest at the the closure imposed upon Falluja by occupation forces, the
correspondent reported.
Three medical workers in one of Baquba's hospitals were injured by US fire, he added.
No further details were available.
Shia gathering at Karbala
Meanwhile, more than a million Shia Muslims were set to mark the holy day of Arbain in
the shrine city of Karbala on Saturday, prompting fears among US officials of more
chaos and bloodshed.
Powell admits it has been a ''tough
week''
Arbain, beginning on Saturday night and continuing through Sunday, comes 40 days after
the religious day of Ashura, when bombers in Baghdad and Karbala killed 171 people.
US Secretary of State Colin Powell said on Friday he had been surprised by the
strength of the Iraqi resistance fighters, claiming there were signs of tactical
contact between Shia and Sunni fighters.
"It's been a tough week, let's be clear about that. But I still believe that most
Iraqis are with us," he told Fox News.
At least 51 US and other occupation soldiers have been killed in the past week's
fighting. Two US soldiers and a civilian truck driver were killed on Friday, the
military said. A British civilian working for a US security firm was also killed.
Since the start of the US-led war at least 455 US troops have been killed in action in
Iraq, according to the Pentagon.
The Mulindwas Communication Group
"With Yoweri Museveni, Uganda is in anarchy"
Groupe de communication Mulindwas
"avec Yoweri Museveni, l'Ouganda est dans l'anarchie"
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