Fallujah residents not staying
2004-12-24 18:38
Near Fallujah - Fallujah residents returning to their home city expressed reluctance on Friday to settle in a "ghost town" as others were deterred from even entering as fighting erupted for the second straight day.
About 10 cars had entered the city when the sounds of fighting rang out from inside Fallujah.
A few of the 25 cars still lined up at a checkpoint to enter the city decided to leave rather than venture inside the war zone they had fled ahead of last month's US offensive to reclaim the city of 300 000 from rebels.
Those that dared to go inside found an apocalyptic scene of flattened city blocks and bullet-scarred homes, where wild dogs and cats have feasted on corpses and the sour smell of the dead filled the streets for weeks.
A series of small explosions prompted Mohsen Hassan al-Dulaimi, 45, to leave the city after spending just one hour inside Friday.
"I did not bring my family and I just nipped in and out," he said as he came out through the checkpoint.
"The situation is really bad and I do not think we can go back any time soon."
Fierce fighting
About 900 residents returned to the war-scarred city on Thursday on the first day the Iraqi government and US military had welcomed people back to their city since the campaign to root out insurgents began on November 8.
The return of citizens on Thursday unfolded despite fierce fighting in northern Fallujah that saw US forces call in an air strike on a building.
So far, the US military and Iraqi government have restricted access in Fallujah to residents of a single neighbourhood - the southwestern Al-Andalus business district.
The government expects 2 000 people to return and US and Iraqi government troops are carrying out rigorous identity checks to ensure only residents of the one neighbourhood out of the city's 18 were let in.
Property damage
The Iraqi government has been pushing for preparations to be stepped up for the return of residents, who have been forced to stay with relatives, squat in schools or shiver in camps until they can regain their homes.
It announced on Monday that returning families would receive immediate assistance of $100 and be eligible for compensation of up to $10 000 for property damage.
But US commanders warned it would take a long time to restore basic services to the point where all residents could return.
- AFP