BAGHDAD,
October 15 (IslamOnline.net) - The Fallujah Muslim scholars Friday,
October 15, appealed to the international community for helping save
the heavily-populated Iraqi city from a feared massive US onslaught.
In
a statement obtained by IslamOnline.net, the scholars threatened to
declare holy war across Iraq if the US occupation forces continue the
onslaught.
"Since
the Fallujah negotiating team said Iraq’s interim government is not
interested into negotiations, the scholars agreed asking Islamic
organizations for a unified decisive stance against the use of
force," read the statement.
The
statement urged other Muslim scholars in Iraq to issue an edict
calling for civil disobedience and to ban the implementation of US
military orders for striking Fallujah or other cities in the country.
It
also refuted the US military claims for striking the city; that of the
presence of Al-Qaeda-linked Abu Mussab Al-Zarqawi, reiterating all the
Fallujans "agree these are as false claims as these of weapons of
mass destruction."
The
United States has made the case of the invasion and occupation
allegedly for searching for weapons of mass destruction, none of which
have been found in the country _ which has the world’s second oil
reserves.
"The
allegation that Zarqawi is here has been used to justify killing women
and children," read the statement, referring to the TV scenes of
pulling out bodies of children after the US military strikes of the
city.
Strikes
Continue
The
statements came after at least eight people were killed and several
injured in one of the heaviest US bombardments for weeks, medical
sources told BBC News Online.
A
hospital doctor, Thamim al-Nuaimi, said five civilians had been killed
and 11 wounded in the attacks.
During
the bombardment, American troops reportedly detained Muslim scholar
cleric Khaled al-Jumaili, a senior member of a delegation which had
been negotiating a truce in Fallujah.
Iraqi
police said US marines also detained the city's police chief and two
other police officers as they moved their families to a nearby town to
escape American air raids. No reasons were cited for the
detentions.
Also,
more than 1,000 US and Iraqi ground troops advanced towards Fallujah
in the first land operation after weeks of almost daily air strikes.
It
was the biggest deployment of US ground forces since last April when
marines and fighters battled in Fallujah, leaving hundreds dead,
Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.
That
campaign ended in an inconclusive stand-off.
Ground
Invasion
However,
Residents of Fallujah are packing their bags and leaving town fearing
the strikes could be prelude to a full-scale assault.
"They
bombed us with their planes and people started running away from
home," one resident told Reuters news agency.
"The
situation now is very difficult and we are leaving now," he
added, with clear signs of fury.
The
Friday air strikes came one day after a call to residents by Iraqi
interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi to give up Zarqawi.
