Ekip
20 February 2016•Update: 20 February 2016
By Ibrahim Saleh
BAGHDAD
An Iraqi lawmaker has called on Baghdad to support local tribesmen who have reportedly taken up arms against the Daesh militant group in Fallujah, the largest city of Iraq’s western Anbar province.
Mohammad al-Karbouli, MP and member of the Iraqi Forces Union’s political bureau, speaking in parliament on Saturday, called on the Ministry of Defense and local tribal leaders "to support the revolutionaries in Fallujah who have revolted against Daesh".
Such support, he asserted, would serve to "accelerate the liberation of the city".
Al-Karbouli added that several areas of Fallujah "have already been liberated by the revolution waged by the people of Fallujah".
He went on to urge the army’s leadership in Anbar and Iraq’s Defense Ministry-linked counterterrorism forces to "seize the opportunity afforded by the popular rejection of Daesh [in Fallujah] to achieve the full liberation of the besieged city".
Al-Karbouli also appealed to Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi and the leadership of a U.S.-led anti-Daesh coalition "to redouble their efforts to liberate Fallujah and conduct airdrops in areas liberated by revolutionary forces -- and to coordinate with them -- with a view to liberating remaining [Daesh-held] territories".
According to local sources, a number of Sunni tribesmen in Fallujah have recently taken up arms against Daesh, which captured the city nearly two years ago.
In 2014, Fallujah -- located 65 kilometers west of Baghdad -- became the first major Iraqi city to fall to the militant group, which went on to capture large swathes of territory in northern and western Iraq later the same year.
