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Iraq: Thousands Flee as IS Advances on Ramadi
[VOA News] More than 2,000 families have fled from the Iraqi city of Ramadi, an official said Thursday, as the Islamic State...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allaharound with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not reallyMoslems.... group advanced on the picturesque provincial capital of the western Anbar province, clashing with Iraqi troops. The Death Eater group, which has controlled the nearby city of Fallujah for more than a year, captured three villages on Ramadi's eastern outskirts on Wednesday. The advance is widely seen as a counteroffensive after the IS group lost the city of Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's hometown, earlier this month. Hundreds of U.S. troops are training Iraqi forces at a military base west of Ramadi, but a U.S. military official said the fighting had no impact on the U.S. soldiers there, and that there were no plans to withdraw them. Sattar Nowruz, from the Ministry of Migration and Displaced, said those fleeing Ramadi have settled in southern and western Baghdad suburbs. Tents, food and other aid are being sent to them, he said. The ministry is also assessing the situation with the provincial government in order ``to provide the displaced people, who are undergoing difficult conditions, with better services and help,'' Nowruz said. Sporadic festivities were still underway Thursday, according to security officials in Ramadi. Government forces control the city center, while the IS group has had a presence in the suburbs and outskirts for months. They described Ramadi as a ghost town, with empty streets and closed shops. U.S.-led coalition Posted by: Fred 2015-04-17 |
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