Iraqis cross river to escape IS siege
Hundreds of Iraqis have crossed a river to escape the city of Fallujah, where 50,000 people are trapped under IS siege and being used as human shields.
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| According to Reuters, since May 23, the Iraqi army has launched an offensive to retake the city of Fallujah, which is occupied by the Islamic State (IS). There are about 50,000 civilians trapped in the city. According to the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR), there is information that several hundred families are being used as human shields by IS. |
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| Hundreds of men, women and children braved the danger to cross the Euphrates River to flee from IS. |
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| They used barrels, boats, foam boxes to cross the river, and even swam across the river without any protective equipment. |
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| Hundreds of people waited on the other side of the river. The Euphrates is the longest river in Western Asia. It flows through Iraq, Syria and Türkiye for a total length of 2,800 km. |
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| Fallujah residents wrap an elderly man in a blanket and bring him ashore after crossing the river. |
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| Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced on June 1 that the military had reduced the frequency of attacks due to concerns for the safety of tens of thousands of civilians trapped in the city, facing the risk of lack of drinking water, food and health care. |
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| A spokesman for the Shiite militia, which has been fighting alongside government troops, said the fighting had been deadlocked for three days and asked Prime Minister Abadi to continue the operation to liberate Falluja. "We must liberate Fallujah to protect the capital Baghdad," he said. |
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| Fallujah is located about 50 km west of the capital Baghdad. IS captured this place in January 2014, before spreading to many cities in northern and western Iraq. |
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| Iraq's finance minister said IS was putting up a full-fledged resistance and that liberating the city would take time. |
According to VNE