CAIR Says Civilians in Fallujah Must Receive Aid+War Crimes Probe

To: National and International desks

Contact: Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, or Ihooper [at] cair-net.org; or Rabiah Ahmed, 202-488-8787 or 202-439-1441, or Rahmed [at] cair-net.org

WASHINGTON, Nov. 15 /U.S. Newswire/ -- A prominent national Islamic civil rights and advocacy group today called on American military authorities in Iraq to lift the ban on delivery of humanitarian relief supplies to the people of Fallujah.

SEE: "Relief Convoy Turned Back from Fallujah: Red Cross" http://www.boston.com/dailynews/320/world/Relief_convoy_turned(under )back_from:.shtml

The Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) also called for an independent probe of allegations by Amnesty International (AI) and human rights experts that both sides in the recent fighting have violated the rules of war.

SEE: "Fears of Serious Violations of the Rules of War in Falluja" http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/engmde140562004

"Rights Lawyers See Possibility of a War Crime" http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/13/international/middleeast/13legal.html

Media reports indicate that U.S. troops have blocked aid convoys trying to reach people trapped in Fallujah and that some military personnel may have targeted civilians.

A Baghdad spokesman for the Red Cross told Associated Press that ambulances and trucks carrying supplies got only as far as the hospital on the edge of the city before being stopped. An Associated Press photographer said he watched in horror as a family of five was shot dead by American helicopters as they tried to cross Euphrates River, which flows on the western side of Fallujah.

SEE: "AP Photog Escapes Fallujah" http://news.bostonherald.com/international/view.bg?articleid=54058

A Reuters correspondent said a drive through the city "reveals a picture of utter destruction, with concrete houses flattened, mosques in ruins, telegraph poles blown over, power and phone lines hanging slack and rubble and human remains littering the empty streets." Fallujah residents contacted by Reuters on Sunday said their children were suffering from diarrhea and had not eaten for days.

SEE: "A City Lies in Ruins, Along with the Lives of the Wretched Survivors" http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=582 915

According to one Iraqi journalist quoted by The Observer newspaper, civilian casualties were caused by the massive firepower directed at Fallujah neighborhoods during the battle. "If the fighters fire a mortar, US forces respond with huge force," said the journalist, who asked not to be named.

SEE: "Civilian Cost of Battle for Falluja Emerges" http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1350926,00.html

"Fallujah Turned into Disaster area" http://news.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=1309252004

"Inside Fallujah: One Family's Diary of Terror" http://www.sundayherald.com/46056

In its statement, CAIR said:

"The desperate situation that now exists in the city of Fallujah requires that all impediments to the delivery of humanitarian relief supplies be lifted immediately. We call on American military authorities to do whatever is necessary to ensure that those supplies reach Iraqi civilians who are suffering and dying today in that city.

"It is also essential that reports of attacks on civilians be investigated thoroughly by an independent international body and the results of that investigation be made known. There must be an accounting of civilian casualties in Fallujah and those forced to flee their homes must be allowed to return. American journalists embedded with our military should also examine the impact of the war on Iraqi civilians.

"We call on President Bush, elected officials and all Americans of conscience to re-think our disastrous policies in Iraq and to recognize that those policies are making us less safe and less respected as a nation."

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CAIR, America's largest Muslim civil liberties group, is headquartered in Washington, D.C., and has 29 offices and chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

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EDITORS NOTE:

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