Iraq’s top Shiite cleric Ali al-Sistani on Friday called for the protection of civilians trapped in Fallujah by Islamic State amid fears they are bearing the brunt of an ongoing offensive to drive the militants.
“Saving an innocent human from harm is more important and greater than targeting the enemy,’’ Al-Sistani, said in a sermon at a mosque in the holy city of Karbala.
On Monday, Iraqi government forces, backed by a powerful Shiite militia and U.S.-led airstrikes, started an onslaught to dislodge Islamic State from its stronghold in the mostly Sunni city of Fallujah.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said tens of thousands of civilians remain trapped, prevented from escaping by the extremists, as the city continued to come under heavy bombardment from Iraqi forces.
In December 2015, routes out of the city were cut off and civilians prevented from leaving, according to the agency.
Since then, food and medicines have been in short supply, and families have had to rely on unsafe water sources.
Fallujah, around 50 kilometres west of Baghdad, was the first Iraqi city to fall to Islamic State, before the radical Sunni group seized more territory in the country in a lightning attack months later.
Report says Islamic State still controls key areas in Sunni Arab northern and western Iraq, including Mosul, the country’s second-largest city.