"Due to (aerial) bombings and the Iraqi joint forces' assaults on Fallujah, a large number of civilians have died," said a Rudaw reporter from the scene. "Those killed in bombings have been buried in their homes, because they cannot leave their houses due to the intensity of the bombings,” he said.
In the fighting between Iraqi forces and their allied Shiite militia that are fighting to evict Islamic State (ISIS) fighters from Fallujah, civilians are trapped by gunfire, mortar shells and bombings.
The Rudaw reporter said there is no safe corridor that residents can use to flee the town.
"Those who have been able to surrender to the Iraqi Army are mainly from villages around Fallujah, and others inside the town have no way to exit the town," he explained.
Iraqi Army officials say they are ready to stop the offensive in order to protect civilians and get them into safe zones.
“We will escort fleeing civilians to the Anbar governor’s office. And those who don’t come with us, we tell them to go to Amiriya,” Hadi Amiri, head of the Shiite militia known as Hashd al-Shaabi, told Rudaw.
“We are ready to stop the assault to protect civilians. I have contacted politicians to come and visit displaced people. We are ready if politicians want to come here and be responsible for refugees," he added.
An estimated 50,000 civilians are still trapped in Fallujah. The Iraqi government had urged those who could to leave and those that couldn’t to fly white flags to show the incoming forces that they posed no threat.
Rudaw’s reporter said that the Iraqi army had failed to make significant headway into Fallujah, despite numerous heavy and advanced weapons in their possession.
"The Iraqi Army and security forces have not controlled Saqlawia center yet because ISIS militants repulsed the advances with heavy weapons," according to the reporter.
To reach Fallujah, the Iraqi army has to clear Saqlawia first and negotiate a myriad of roadside bombs and ISIS suicide bombers before reaching the center of Fallujah.
“We are around Saqlawia and the military and Hashd forces are continuing to make progress,” a military commander told Rudaw.
“ISIS fighters are just 200 meters away from us and they are weak. There are just three or four ISIS militants in there," he added.
