Washington’s heavy-handed policies in Fallujah and elsewhere continues to draw worldwide rebukes

CAIRO, November 20 (IslamOnline.net) – In an unusual criticism of the bloody situation in war-torn Iraq, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) lambasted Friday, November 19, "utter contempt" for humanity shown by all parties.

“We are deeply concerned by the devastating impact that the fighting in Iraq is having on the people of that country,” said Pierre Kraehenbuehl, the ICRC's director of operations, in a statement posted on its Web site.

“As hostilities continue in Fallujah and elsewhere, every day seems to bring news of yet another act of utter contempt for the most basic tenet of humanity: the obligation to protect human life and dignity,” he added.

Some 10,000 US marines and army forces, alongside some 2,000 Iraqi national guardsmen unleashed a long-expected onslaught on the resistance hub on November 8, capping long nights of massive US raids.

The successive air strikes have caused huge damage in the western Baghdad city, with dead bodies littering the streets.

Shock

The international aid group, the guardian of the Geneva Conventions governing conduct in warfare, urged all parties in Iraq to comply with international law.

“For the parties to this conflict, complying with international humanitarian law is an obligation, not an option.”

Kraehenbuehl stressed that like in any other conflict, the situation in occupied Iraq “is subject to limits, and they must be respected at all times.”

He added that these limits include an “absolute prohibition” of the killing of people not taking part in fighting, forbid torture, degrading treatment and hostage taking.

“They also imposed protection for the wounded as well as for civilians.”

The ICRC expressed shock over the killing of an unarmed, wounded Iraqi fighter by a US soldier in a mosque in Fallujah and the execution of aid worker Margaret Hassan.

NBC correspondent Kevin Sites said US Marines had killed four unarmed and wounded Iraqi prisoners of war in a Fallujah mosque.

The grisly scene provoked revulsion from leading international human rights watchdogs, which called for an immediate investigation into the US killing of civilians across occupied Iraq.

Appeal

The ICRC appealed for all warring parties to do everything possible to allow aid agencies to help the thousands of suffering Iraqis.

“Regrettably, recent events have again shown just how difficult it has become for neutral, independent and impartial humanitarian organizations to assist and protect the victims of the conflict in Iraq.”

The Iraqi Red Crescent appealed on Sunday, November 15, for the United Nations to help its convoys reach local citizens in besieged Fallujah.

A few days earlier the group warned that a humanitarian disaster crisis was unfolding in Fallujah.

The ICRC also called for providing adequate medical care for the injured, whether friend or foe, and helping civilians with food, water and health care.

“If these rules or any other applicable rules of international humanitarian law are violated, the persons responsible must be held accountable for their actions,” Kraehenbuehl said.

US occupation forces have for many days banned relief teams from entering war-battered Fallujah to help the wounded and bury the dead.

An eyewitness, who escaped the hell in Fallujah, told IslamOnline.net Saturday, November 13, that bodies of children and injured in the western Iraqi city were “deliberately” crushed by US tanks.