By Glenn Field ERBIL, Kurdistan Region--As the offensive on Fallujah’s city center grows near, humanitarian aid organizations are in a bind on two fronts. They are unable to deliver aid to the city center and are struggling to accommodate civilians fleeing the city, adding to the already astounding number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Iraq. To complicate matters further, many of the IDPs are escaping to areas controlled by Shiite militias who not only are without the needed aid readily available but have been reported to be mistreating them as well. The Iraqi Red Crescent Society (IRCS) has been attempting to reach Fallujah’s city center in order to deliver food and medical supplies but has remained unsuccessful due to the ongoing fighting. Residents who have fled Fallujah report shortages of basic supplies and food. They tell stories of no fuel to make fires and no food to cook. 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,” Hanaa Mahdi Fayadh from northeast Fallujah told Reuters. But without authorization from the US-led forces to go into the city, the IRCS is afraid that they would lose their supplies. There is also the prospect of being taken hostage or killed by ISIS forces. Therefore, they are only able to administer aid to those who are around Fallujah. The IRCS has only been able to deliver supplies to Amrya near Fallujah, where almost 3,500 displaced families have fled to. The IRCS and other NGOs in the capital have also given help to nearly 150 families who have fled Fallujah and are staying at a camp at the entrance of the Baghdad International Fair, in Mansour district. Outside Fallujah, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) along with the Association of Islamic Aid, has sent a 50-truck convoy carrying milk, dates, wheat and clothes to the village of Saqlawiyah where thousands more IDPs are staying. Despite the efforts of the ICRC, the Iraqi government and other NGOs, the aid available is far from sufficient and some are blaming the Iraqi government for logistical problems in distributing supplies. "Due to road closures, at least 3,000 people are facing starvation or death. Humanitarian groups are trying to find ways to reach the destitute," said Hasan Aynacı from the Turkish NGO, Humanitarian Relief Foundation. A safe corridor out of the city, known as al-Salam Junction, in the southwest of the city, was secured on Saturday. The Norwegian Refugee Council estimated that 4,000 were able to flee on Sunday and another 3,300 fled on Monday. But by Tuesday, the number of civilians able to escape Fallujah had dropped to fewer than 1,000. The United Nations estimated on Tuesday that, while some 40,000 civilians have been able to escape Fallujah, another 40,000 remain trapped in the city.
