Fallujah is still a ghost city even if it is cleared of the so-called Islamic State (ISIS) and now the Iraqi government is reorganizing and rebuilding the city’s governmental administrative units in order to encourage people to return to the city.
However, the mayor of Fallujah claims the city's population is afraid of the prospect of Shiite Hashd al-Shaabi presence in their city.
Sound bite from Shingal mayor, Issa Issawi
“I think political rivalries will impede on the return of refugees to the city which also needs serious encouragement by the government,” Issa Issawi, Fallujah mayor, told Rudaw.
The Iraqi Migration Ministry in coordination with the UN has agreed to repair the Azragiya dam and restore electricity stations in Fallujah.
The Iraqi migration minister Darbaz Mohammed revealed that the sum of 10 billion Iraqi dinars [approximately $8 million] are allocated to rebuild the Anbar province, while some of the funding will be allotted for Fallujah.
“[The government] is yet to bring back life to Fallujah because basic services have to be provided for first, including electricity and water,” said Mohammed.
Mohammed added that “all ministries have to reinstall their ministries in Fallujah, because it is the biggest city liberated from ISIS in Iraq so far and its people have not yet returned home.”
In the streets of Fallujah, pictures of Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran have been hung on walls alonside with Ali Sistani, the top Shiite cleric in Iraq.
In front of mosques, Imam Hussein flags have been flying as well.
