Five Iraqis, three of them children, have starved to death in the city of Fallujah, a local official revealed on Sunday. Saad Al-Sha’lan blamed the deaths on the severe shortage of food and medicines in Al-Anbar province, Anadolu has reported. He added that Al-Fallujah Hospital is working at only 20 per cent of its normal capacity.
“Starvation is threatening 100,000 people in the city,” the official warned. He called upon the federal government and international coalition to move “immediately” to save the lives of Fallujah’s civilians by dropping aid from aircraft in order to expedite the relief process.
The High Commission for Human Rights in Iraq, an independent group which reports to parliament, confirmed the shortage of food and medical resources as well as children’s milk in Fallujah. The city has been held under Daesh control since the beginning of 2014, and the Iraqi security forces have been imposing strict security measures to prevent supplies from reaching the extremists.