IS-captured Iraqi city’s residents starving: Human Rights Watch

PanARMENIAN.Net - Residents in the Iraqi city of Falluja are starving, says U.S.-based campaign group Human Rights Watch (HRW), according to BBC News.

Government forces trying to recapture the area from so-called Islamic State (IS) militants have cut supply routes, and IS stops people from leaving.

What little food available is being sold at exorbitant prices, forcing some to eat soup made from grass, HRW says.

Tens of thousands of residents remain in the city, which is one of two remaining IS strongholds in Iraq.

"The people... are besieged by the government, trapped by Isis [IS], and are starving," said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director. "The warring parties should make sure that aid reaches the civilian population."

HRW said Iraqi activists who were in contact with Falluja residents reported that people in the city were reduced to eating ground date seed flat bread as well as grass soup.

And the ingredients for such meagre meals are highly priced. A 50-kg sack of flour is sold for U.S.$750 and a bag of sugar for $500, whereas the same amount of the same ingredients in Baghdad, about 50km (30 miles) east, cost $15 and $40 respectively, the HRW cited one Falluja resident as saying.