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Iraq violence: PM urges Fallujah to oust militants Iraq violence: PM urges Fallujah to oust militants
(about 5 hours later)
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki has urged residents of the embattled city of Fallujah to force out insurgents linked to al-Qaeda who have taken control there.Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki has urged residents of the embattled city of Fallujah to force out insurgents linked to al-Qaeda who have taken control there.
Mr Maliki said if the people expelled what he called terrorists, they would be spared military action. Mr Maliki said that if the people expelled "terrorists", they would be spared military action.
Iraqi forces are preparing to recapture the city, which has been out of government control for days.Iraqi forces are preparing to recapture the city, which has been out of government control for days.
Hundreds have already fled shelling and air strikes by government forces. The US is speeding up the delivery of military equipment to the government.
Mr Maliki called on "the people of Fallujah and its tribes to expel the terrorists" so "their areas are not subjected to the danger of armed clashes", state television reported. "We're accelerating our foreign military sales deliveries and are looking to provide an additional shipment of Hellfire missiles as early as this spring," White House spokesman Jay Carney said.
The former Iraqi national security adviser, Mowaffak al-Rubaie, has told the BBC it was impossible to defend all of Iraq from attacks by the al-Qaeda-linked militants the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, known as ISIS. He said Washington would also provide more surveillance drones - 10 in the next few weeks and another 48 later in the year.
"This can happen and probably will happen in future because you can't put millions and millions and millions of Iraqis under arms and protect every street all over the country. Mr Carney said it was up to the Iraqis to "take the lead" but the US was "working closely with the Iraqis to develop a holistic strategy to isolate the al-Qaeda-affiliated groups".
"These guys [the militants], they are highly motivated, they are very well-trained, they can do this because they are brainwashed, their understanding of Islam is highly selective. They are brutal. They are ruthless. They are after anarchy." Danger
An adviser to the prime minister, Saad al-Mutalabi, has told the BBC that insurgents had smuggled weapons into the city from the war in neighbouring Syria. With hundreds of residents already fleeing shelling and air strikes by government forces, Mr Maliki called on "the people of Fallujah and its tribes to expel the terrorists".
This would ensure "their areas are not subjected to the danger of armed clashes", state television quoted him as saying.
Much of the city is reported to be controlled by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, known as ISIS.
An adviser to the prime minister, Saad al-Mutalabi, has told the BBC that insurgents smuggled weapons into the city from the war in neighbouring Syria.
"Because of what is happening in Syria and the new ammunition and missiles they received from Saudi Arabia into Syria, they managed to smuggle quite a vast quantity of equipment to fight the Iraqi people.""Because of what is happening in Syria and the new ammunition and missiles they received from Saudi Arabia into Syria, they managed to smuggle quite a vast quantity of equipment to fight the Iraqi people."
Fighting is also continuing in Ramadi, also in Anbar province, parts of which are in the hands of militants.Fighting is also continuing in Ramadi, also in Anbar province, parts of which are in the hands of militants.
Both the US and Iran have offered military support, though not troops.
A commander of an anti-government armed group in Iraq, calling itself the Fallujah Military Council, has vowed to punish tribesmen who support the Iraqi government forces in the battle for the control of Anbar province.A commander of an anti-government armed group in Iraq, calling itself the Fallujah Military Council, has vowed to punish tribesmen who support the Iraqi government forces in the battle for the control of Anbar province.
"The revolutionaries of Fallujah tribes have resolved to punish those, the covetous, who are linked to the sectarian government. They decided to be part of the military council, vowing to thwart this filthy project in the whole Arab region," the militant said."The revolutionaries of Fallujah tribes have resolved to punish those, the covetous, who are linked to the sectarian government. They decided to be part of the military council, vowing to thwart this filthy project in the whole Arab region," the militant said.
EmblematicEmblematic
Fallujah is a highly symbolic city for many Iraqis, particularly Sunni Arabs, say correspondents.Fallujah is a highly symbolic city for many Iraqis, particularly Sunni Arabs, say correspondents.
It is remembered for the battles fought there between insurgents and US-backed forces in 2004.It is remembered for the battles fought there between insurgents and US-backed forces in 2004.
The latest upsurge in violence in Anbar began after troops broke up a protest camp by Sunni Arabs in the city of Ramadi last month. The latest upsurge in violence in Anbar began after troops broke up a protest camp by Sunni Arabs in Ramadi last month.
Separately on Sunday, bombs in the capital Baghdad left at least 19 people dead. The deadliest attack, which police and medical sources told Reuters had killed nine and wounded 25, was in the Shia district of Shaab. Many Sunni Arabs in Iraq are angered by what they say is their marginalisation by the Shia-led government.
The fighting in Anbar comes against the backdrop of swelling anger among Sunni Arabs at what they say is their marginalisation by the Shia-led government.
They say their minority community is being targeted by anti-terrorism measures implemented to stem the surge in sectarian violence.
For many Fallujah residents, the Iraqi army is serving the "sectarian" agenda of Prime Minister Maliki's Shia-led government, says BBC Arabic analyst Ahmed Maher.For many Fallujah residents, the Iraqi army is serving the "sectarian" agenda of Prime Minister Maliki's Shia-led government, says BBC Arabic analyst Ahmed Maher.
But among other Iraqis, Fallujah is also known as the "city of terrorism" as it served as the nucleus of al-Qaeda in their country. After the US-led invasion in 2003, al-Qaeda based itself in Fallujah where several beheadings and killings of foreigners took place. But among other Iraqis, Fallujah is also known as the "city of terrorism" as it served as the nucleus of al-Qaeda in their country.
In recent months, Sunni militants have stepped up attacks across Iraq, while Shia groups began deadly reprisals - raising fears of a return to full-scale sectarian conflict. After the US-led invasion in 2003, al-Qaeda based itself in Fallujah where several beheadings and killings of foreigners took place.
In both Fallujah and Ramadi, local Sunni tribesmen and even local police have come out against the government and army, says the BBC's Jim Muir.
These are the same elements that fuelled the insurgency that followed the US-led invasion in 2003. It tapered off five years later, but levels of violence - and sectarian tensions - are now once again rising dangerously, our correspondent adds.
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