ERBIL, Kurdistan Region—For the residents of Fallujah who manage to avoid being used as human shields by the Islamic State and escape the widespread starvation in the city, their suffering continues when they reach government-held territory where they face lack of resources and possible abuse at the hands of Shiite militias. An estimated 50,000 civilians remaining in Fallujah face starvation in a city cut off from external aid and controlled by Islamic State (ISIS) militants who use dwindling food supplies as a means to control the residents. ISIS militants have offered food to starving locals if they agree to fight with the terrorist organization. “They told our neighbor they would give him a sack of flour if his son joined them,” Hanaa Mahdi Fayadh from northeast Fallujah told Reuters. “He refused and when they had gone, he fled with his family.” Escaped residents of the city tell stories of no fuel to make fires and no food to cook on those fires. Some had only stale dates to eat. “The only thing remaining in the few shops open was dates; old, stale dates and even those were expensive,” said Fayadh. A 50kg bag of flour cost 500,000 dinars, about $450 US, according to Reuters. ISIS controls the food supplies in the city but many residents had no money to buy food after the Iraqi government stopped paying the salaries of its employees in the city a year ago. The government made the move in an effort to stop any funds from reaching the terrorist group. “There is widespread food deprivation,” Lise Grande, deputy special representative of the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq, told Al Jazeera. “Medicines haven’t made it into Fallujah for months. We know that people no longer have access to clean drinking water and they’re forced to drink out of the irrigation canals. We’re worried that there might even be a cholera outbreak because of this.” ISIS also used the starving civilians as human shields. Azhar Nazar Hadi, from the Sijir neighbourhood in northern Fallujah, said her family was asked by militants to move into the city centre. The militants took hundreds of people into the city, Hadi reported, though her family was able to hide. “There was shooting, mortars and clashes. We stayed hidden until the [Iraqi] forces came in,” she said. For those who manage to escape the city, however, their problems are not over. Those housed in a camp in nearby government-held territory are receiving assistance from a government that has no resources. There are shortages of clean water, food, and medicine in the camp. “So we are suffering here under difficult conditions,” Umm Bariq, recently arrived from south of Fallujah, told the New York Times. “We need help here.” Baghdad tightly controls the movement of people and goods between the capital and Anbar province for security reasons. This is making it very difficult for aid agencies to deliver supplies to the residents of Fallujah. “It just doesn’t make any sense to have invested so much in a military campaign to defeat Daesh and not provide lifesaving support to Iraqis in their hours of greatest need,” said Grande. Sectarian tensions are also a serious concern. Shiite militias are assisting the Iraqi army to liberate the Sunni city. Some escaped residents report being well treated by some Shiite militia forces. But other militia groups have been accused of torturing escapees. The men from Fallujah are taken by the Iraqi forces for investigation for links to terrorism. Over 600 of them were tortured by Shiite militias, local authorities reported. A few died because of the abuse they suffered. “The detainees were in critical condition, facing many tortures and abuses. Four of them were killed under torture and two others are in critical condition,” Anbar provincial council member Rajih Barakat told Rudaw on Sunday. The UN has called for the Iraqi government to ensure the safety of civilians. "Eyewitnesses have described how armed groups operating in support of the Iraqi security forces are intercepting people fleeing the conflict, separating the men and teenage boys from the women and children, and detaining the males for ‘security screening’, which in some cases degenerates into physical violations and other forms of abuse, apparently in order to elicit forced confessions," said the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad al Hussein in a news release. "There are even allegations that some individuals have been summarily executed by these armed groups." Zeid acknowledged that security checks must be carried on persons fleeing ISIS-held territory, he said such checks must be carried out by those authorized to do so under law. "It is paramount that all individuals fleeing the violence around Fallujah must be assumed to be civilians without links to armed groups, unless there is clear and cogent evidence to the contrary." The Shiite militias have denied that they are detaining civilians. “We are not authorized to detain anyone,” said Hayder Mayahii, with the Shiite militia media office. “We are just helping to move displaced people.” An estimated 50,000 civilians are still trapped in Fallujah; perhaps 20,000 of those are children estimates the United Nations. Reports indicate that between 3,000 and 5,000 have been able to flee. ISIS militants have prevented many from leaving through executions, amputations, and recently shooting those trying to swim across the Euphrates River to territory held by the Iraqi forces. The offensive to retake Fallujah, which has been under Islamic State control since January 2014, was launched over two weeks ago but has proceeded slowly. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi claimed the offensive his army was leading into the city had been purposely slowed down in order to minimize civilian casualties.
