16 November 2004Znet
It never fails to get my adrenaline flowing when my hotel rumbles from a car bomb detonating in central Baghdad.
Last night around 7pm the explosion occurred at a hotel compound which houses foreign contractors over near Firdos Square.
Shortly there after the “Green Zone” took a sustained mortar attack which went on long enough for them to hit the blaring sirens which warn the inhabitants to take cover, long after the mortar rounds had stopped falling.
Iraq’s borders with Syria and Jordan remain closed, according to US-appointed prime minister Allawi since declaring Iraq in a state of “national emergency.”
Due to Baghdad International Airport being closed for the same reason, a friend managed to drive across the “closed” border of Jordan a few days ago because he’d grown weary of waiting for the airport to reopen.
Prior to leaving Amman he checked with the car hire kiosks who told him they had been running cars to and from Iraq non-stop, despite the “closed” borders.
At the Jordanian border there were, according to my friend, at least 100 cars waiting to cross the border into Iraq. An Iraqi “guard” in civilian clothing told them, while laughing, “The border is closed, but I will open it for you, despite what Allawi says.”
At the customs clearance building, although they were driving in a GMC with 10 large suitcases lashed to the top of it, a quick bribe of $3 to the official allowed them to be waved through without a single door of their truck being opened.
There were no US soldiers, nor any Iraqi National Guard. His passport was stamped without even being looked at, and he left within minutes.
All of the other cars and trucks traveling into Iraq near him made it across the border as well. Again, as he said, “There were easily over 100.”
There is so much fighting and chaos around Iraq now that it is simply impossible to report everything, so I’ll just cover a few highlights.
Four oil wells in northern Iraq have been destroyed by the resistance, adding to the heinous fuel shortage that has wracked the country for weeks now.
Petrol lines in Baghdad continue to stretch for miles in places, making people angry and frustrated. Driving around the city is more and more difficult, as the petrol lines squeeze 2 and 3 lane roads down to a single lane, snarling traffic and raising tempers.
There are sporadic attacks continuing throughout the capital city day and night, as the Iraqi resistance continue to fight against the occupiers of their country.
Armed men continue to roam freely about the streets of Mosul and Ramadi in defiance of the US military, Iraqi National Guard (ING) and Iraqi Police (IP). A US convoy was attacked north of Ramadi and a Humvee was exploded; no word yet from the military on casualties.
In Baquba, about 40 miles northeast of Baghdad, another police station was attacked, 5 police vehicles torched along with several Iraqi National Guard trucks and the US base in the city was mortared. My friend in the area told me on the phone, “There were so many bullets Mr. Daher, I hid in my shop and God protected me, but it is crazy here. I want to come to Baghdad to see you, but there is no petrol in Baquba.”
The horrendous humanitarian disaster of Fallujah drags on as the US military continues to refuse the entry of an Iraqi Red Crescent (IRC) convoy of relief supplies. The Red Crescent has appealed to the UN to intervene, but no such luck, nor does the military relent.
IP’s, who are under U.S. control, have looted Fallujah General Hospital.
The military stopped the Red Crescent at the gates of the city and are not allowing them in. They allowed some bodies to be buried, but others are being eaten by dogs and cats in the streets, as reported by refugees just out of the city, as well as residents still trapped there.
The military said it saw no need for the IRC to deliver aid to people inside Fallujah because it did not think any civilians were still inside the city.
Contradicting this claim, along with virtually every aid work, refugee, and resident of Fallujah was US Marine Col. Mike Shupp who said, “There is no need to bring [Red Crescent] supplies in because we have supplies of our own for the people.”
IRC spokeswoman Firdu al-Ubadi added, “We know of at least 157 families inside Fallujah who need our help.”
The media repression by the military around Fallujah continues to run thick, as a journalist for the al-Arabia network who attempted to get inside Fallujah was detained by the military. Meanwhile, al-Jazeera continues to run announcements over their satellite station, apologizing to its viewers for not having better coverage in Iraq due to their office being closed indefinitely several months ago by the US-backed interim government.
Nevertheless they continue to get the word out. They report today that Asma Khamis al-Muhannadi, a doctor who witnessed the US and Iraqi National Guard raid the general hospital said, “We were tied up and beaten despite being unarmed and having only our medical instruments.”
She said the hospital was targeted by bombs and rockets during the initial siege of Fallujah, and troops dragged patients from their beds and pushed them against the wall.
Al-Muhannadi went on to say that all of them were put under intense inspection and, “Two female doctors were forced to totally undress.”
She continued on, “I was with a woman in labor,” she said, “The umbilical cord had not yet been cut. At that time, a US soldier shouted at one of the (Iraqi) national guards to arrest me and tie my hands while I was helping the mother to deliver. I will never forget this incident in my life.”
Like I said, these are just some highlights.
