![People gather around the incident site as security forces cordon the area after a road-side parked car-bomb attack in Baghdad, Iraq on 30 May, 2017 [Visam Ziyad Muhammed/Anadolu Agency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/20170530_2_23956020_22654880.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1)
The Association of Muslim Scholars (AMS) has warned that all parties to the conflict in Iraq are responsible for the excessive killing and systematic destruction in the country because they do not hesitate to kill people to achieve personal gains and temporary successes.
In a statement issued yesterday, the organisation said the areas of Anah, Rawa and Al-Qa’im, west of Anbar province, have been subjected to indiscriminate bombardment by warplanes and heavy artillery for several days which has killed and wounded dozens of innocent civilians and destroying homes, shops and school buildings.
The association explained that the same destructive approach is used by the government forces, the Popular Mobilisation Forces and the US-led coalition in dealing with cities controlled by Daesh.
The statement quoted media reports which reveal that the government has imposed a tight siege on the city of Anah in preparation for storming it and that government warplanes and artillery carried out intensive and violent shelling against the town.
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The statement quoted testimonies of civilians who fled the city and said that “the situation in the city is tragic and the killing and destruction is on daily basis”.
The people suffer from acute shortages of food and medicines which has affected their lives, they said
The association expressed concern that the situation could get more complicated, especially since dozens of civilians – mostly children, women and the elderly – who had escaped earlier did not find shelters or safe places to flee.