U.S. attacks Tal Affar plunging country into deeper crisis

 

By Salem Arif

 

Azzaman, September 10, 2005

 

After weeks of heavy bombardment and sporadic skirmishes, U.S. troops stormed Tal Affar early on Saturday.

 

It is the latest in U.S. attacks on Iraqi cities mainly in the so-called Sunni triangle.

 

The attackers are mostly U.S. marines advancing into the Sarai, the old part of Tal Affar, which is a warren of old shops and houses.

 

The onslaught is described as a “joint U.S. and Iraqi” operation, but Iraqi soldiers are too few to spot among the thousands of marines who say they are determined to retake the city.

 

The marines are advancing from four fronts and only allow for civilians to leave while blocking entry into the city.

 

But not everyone is allowed to leave. The troops now see all men able of carrying arms as suspects and many of those attempting to flee have been arrested.

 

The fighting in terms of firepower is reminiscent of the U.S. bid to retake Falluja last year.

 

The troops resort to heavy artillery shelling and air bombardment before moving into areas where they suspect the insurgent might be holding out.

 

Tal Affar is a flat city with mainly one or two-storey houses and no high-rises.

 

Modern dwellings are of cement but those in the old quarters, site of fierce shelling, are built of traditional stone and gypsum.

 

The old quarters house the Qala,  or citadel, one of Iraq’s most treasured ancient structures.

 

The marines are barging into residential quarters, breaking doors and windows of mostly empty houses.

 

The insurgents will put up a fight but it will be nothing like the sort of resistance U.S. troops faced in Falluja.

 

However, the use of fire power is as intensive which will certainly cause a lot of damage and casualties.

 

The government has already sent a signal to Tal Affar warning of heavy damage.

 

But at the same time it has promised “serious and fair” compensation.

 

“We are committed to extend humanitarian assistance in cooperation with the various Iraqi ministries and humanitarian organizations.

 

“In addition we seek to compensate those affected in a serious and fair manner,” said a statement by the government.

 

Promises of compensations have always accompanied ongoing military operations since the fall of Baghdad to U.S. troops in 2003.

 

But the country’s cash-strapped government now finds it almost impossible to cover compensation claims in the aftermath of repeated U.S. onslaughts on Iraqi towns.

 

Last year, U.S. troops attacked Tal Affar also amid government promises of compensations to those affected.

 

The inhabitants say the promises were almost empty and nothing was done by the U.S. or the Iraqi authorities to pay for the damage.

 

Iraqi ministries are still scrambling to raise enough cash to meet compensation claims from Najaf, Sadr City, Falluja, Ramadi, Haditha, Qaim, Samarra and many other towns and cities attacked and stormed by U.S. troops in the past two years.

 

The city of Tal Affar will need a long time to recover once U.S. troops pacify its streets.

 

And it will take its inhabitants much longer to see assistance reaching them in a country where the level of corruption is reported to be among the highest in the world.

 

The head of the Iraqi Red Crescent in the city, Dr. Mohamemd Qassem, said more than 90% of Tal Affar people have fled.

 

“We are committed to have them return to the city,” said the government statement.

 

Dr. Qassem said: “We have detected 170 cases of people suffering from the impact of a curious poison which could be the result of inhaling gases.

 

“We are aware of civilians being wounded of falling debris, the result of U.S. shelling and collapse of their houses.”