UN warns of humanitarian threat in western Iraq

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP-EXCITE

By SINAN SALAHEDDIN

BAGHDAD (AP) - Iraq's prime minister urged al-Qaida-linked fighters who have overrun two cities west of Baghdad to give up the battle, vowing Wednesday to press forward with a push to regain control of the mainly Sunni areas.

The United Nations, meanwhile, warned that the area in Anbar province is facing a "critical humanitarian situation" as food and water supplies are starting to run out.

Sectarian tensions have been rising in Iraq for months as minority Sunnis protested what they perceive as discrimination and random arrests by the Shiite-led government. But violence spiked after the Dec. 28 arrest of a Sunni lawmaker sought on terrorism charges and the government's dismantling of a months-old anti-government Sunni protest camp in the Anbar provincial capital of Ramadi.

As clashes erupted, al-Qaida-linked gunmen assaulted Ramadi and nearby Fallujah, cities that were among the bloodiest battlefields for U.S. forces during the war. The militants overran police stations and military posts, freed prisoners and set up their own checkpoints.

FULL story at link.


Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20140108/DAB6MB3G1.html

[Victor_c3]

1. As a veteran of the war on Iraq I fully feel for the Iraqi people

I hope that they can pull their nation out of the mess that we handed them. Most of the Iraqi people, like most people here, are good and hard working people and they deserve to be able to raise their families and enjoy life in a relatively safe and prosperous setting.

I wish I was in a position where I could do something positive to help them for real this time.

[heaven05]

2. first assad killing his own people

to dislodge dissidents, now our puppet will be killing his own people to quell chaos brought on by our invasion. What a sad and tragic thing. Slowly al-Qaida gains more fighters because of ..............