By Bassem Mroue, Associated Press, 4/19/2004 18:04
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BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) Fleeing the city of Fallujah in their car, 9-year-old Gofran Mohammed's parents and three of her siblings were killed by a spray of gunfire U.S. fire, her relatives say. Now Gofran, wounded in the attack, is huddled with other Fallujah families in Baghdad who vow never to forgive the Americans.
Since the U.S. Marines encircled the city April 5 and began battling insurgents, almost a third of Fallujah's 200,000 inhabitants have fled. Many have flooded into the capital, most with little money or clothing for a trip they thought would last only a few days.
Gofran's parents were among the refugees. Fed up with the battles and the lack of food, they loaded their seven children and a young cousin of the kids into their car April 9.
As they drove from their southern neighborhood of Nazzal, their car was riddled with bullets by American troops, said Gofran's uncle, Ahmed Elewy, who buried the bodies of his brother's family and then escaped the city four days after the shooting. It was not possible to confirm independently that U.S. fire killed the family.
Many residents have reported civilian casualties they blame on U.S. fire, particularly during the first week of fighting in Fallujah, when heavy street battles with insurgents took place and U.S. tanks, artillery and warplanes hammered targets in residential areas of the crowded city.
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http://www.boston.com/dailynews/110/world/Among_Fallujah_s_refugees_ange:.shtml
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