15:32Iraq: 'Fallujah is still paying the price' - Locals and campaigners blame US use of white phosphorus for 'birth defects and illnesses'
Locals and campaigners spoke about the US-led assault on Fallujah, making some shocking claims about the impact in particular of the use of white phosphorus, in footage filmed in the run-up to the 20th anniversary of the military intervention.
"We fought with light and medium weapons, the US forces used white phosphorus, as well as international-banned weapons," claimed Sheikh Dhafer al-Obeidi, one of the commanders. "The football stadium was turned into a cemetery for our martyrs who were in great numbers."
The chemical, a waxy substance with a garlic-like odour, is known to cause severe burns, organ damage and even death. Long-term effects aren’t well-documented, although anecdotal reports have emerged in the years following, with residents describing birth defects and other illnesses.
In 2005, the Pentagon did admit that white phosphorus had been used as an 'incendiary weapon' in the city in 2004. In warfare, the chemical is conventionally used to create smokescreens and mark targets, while US reports detail the 'shake and bake' method for flushing insurgents out.
Bashir Hamed told of how he was sitting the garden with his wife Rajaa when they saw the bombs rain down.
"We saw a bright flash of light," he stated. "We walked to the site where the bombs fell but didn’t find any shrapnel. There was only motion in the air, this indicates they were not regular bombs."
"There was thick smoke and a strange smell," Rajaa added. Some time later, the two went on to welcome their first child - who was born with deformities.
"Before that time [US military intervention], children were rarely born with deformities in Fallujah; maybe one or two cases out of a thousand births. A year later, we decided to have another baby. But the second baby was also born deformed," Bashir continued.
Bashir and Rajaa had two more children, both with similar deformities.
"We moved to Jordan where a doctor said it was because of the white phosphorous used by the US forces in Fallujah, and that he has encountered several similar cases," Rajaa stated.
Journalist Kamal Ayyash, recipient of Samir Kassir award for the investigation of white phosphorous, said he found similar stories.
“In 2019, some doctors … observed an increase in congenital malformations in the Gynecology and Paediatrics Department at Fallujah Hospital," he stated. " The story began when 33 babies were born deformed in only one day. This caught the attention of the hospital officials. So they started registering the cases during their shifts on a weekly basis. They detected more than 337 cases in 2011 and up to 400 cases in 2012. The figures even increased in 2013."
Meanwhile, another local, Mohammed Jasim Mohammed, believes the chemical contributed to his father’s illness.
"At first, we didn’t have any idea about his disease. Within a month, we discovered that he was at the fourth stage of Pancreatic cancer," he claimed. “The reason is that the city of Fallujah has been a battleground from 2005-2013, especially in the district we are living in. we are not the first or the last case. The US forces bombed the city with white phosphorous and other weapons.”
No direct link between birth defects and cancer, and the use of white phosphorus, has been established in the scientific community, although a 2010 report did find anecdotal evidence of a sharp rise in cancers and birth defects in Fallujah.
"The occupation forces hit Fallujah with white phosphorus and uranium, as a result, we have been suffering from birth defects and illnesses," claimed journalist, Eyad Hussein. "The city of Fallujah is still paying the price; the Fallujah General hospital is still treating birth defects to date.
The US did use depleted uranium weapons in Iraq as well, according to a report by the Dutch peace group Pax, although has denied that it poses a health risk, despite similar claims made about birth defects and cancer rates.
White phosphorus is not banned under the Chemical Weapons Convention but is banned for use against civilian targets.
The 2004 Second Battle of Fallujah, a six-week assault on the city, was widely considered the bloodiest of the conflict. Estimates suggest over one hundred coalition troops, up to 2,000 Iraqi insurgents and hundreds of civilians died.
On March 19, 2003, Washington, along with coalition forces, launched a military offensive on Iraq that toppled Saddam Hussein under the pretext of disarming Iraq’s presumed weapons of mass destruction, plunging Iraq into bloodshed and chaos, resulting in the violent deaths of around 200,000 civilians, according to the Iraq Body Count project, although there are other estimations that increase or decrease this figure.
This was preceded by a series of developments that eventually led to the US deploying its army on the Arab country. On January 28, George Bush addressed the nation making it clear that that the US military campaign to topple Saddam Hussein was only a matter of time.
The US officially withdrew its troops from Iraq by December 2011, but thousands remained as part of security operations or serving as private military contractors. The aftermath of the intervention in the country triggered widespread violence and was linked to the rise of the Islamic State (IS).
15:32Locals and campaigners spoke about the US-led assault on Fallujah, making some shocking claims about the impact in particular of the use of white phosphorus, in footage filmed in the run-up to the 20th anniversary of the military intervention.
"We fought with light and medium weapons, the US forces used white phosphorus, as well as international-banned weapons," claimed Sheikh Dhafer al-Obeidi, one of the commanders. "The football stadium was turned into a cemetery for our martyrs who were in great numbers."
The chemical, a waxy substance with a garlic-like odour, is known to cause severe burns, organ damage and even death. Long-term effects aren’t well-documented, although anecdotal reports have emerged in the years following, with residents describing birth defects and other illnesses.
In 2005, the Pentagon did admit that white phosphorus had been used as an 'incendiary weapon' in the city in 2004. In warfare, the chemical is conventionally used to create smokescreens and mark targets, while US reports detail the 'shake and bake' method for flushing insurgents out.
Bashir Hamed told of how he was sitting the garden with his wife Rajaa when they saw the bombs rain down.
"We saw a bright flash of light," he stated. "We walked to the site where the bombs fell but didn’t find any shrapnel. There was only motion in the air, this indicates they were not regular bombs."
"There was thick smoke and a strange smell," Rajaa added. Some time later, the two went on to welcome their first child - who was born with deformities.
"Before that time [US military intervention], children were rarely born with deformities in Fallujah; maybe one or two cases out of a thousand births. A year later, we decided to have another baby. But the second baby was also born deformed," Bashir continued.
Bashir and Rajaa had two more children, both with similar deformities.
"We moved to Jordan where a doctor said it was because of the white phosphorous used by the US forces in Fallujah, and that he has encountered several similar cases," Rajaa stated.
Journalist Kamal Ayyash, recipient of Samir Kassir award for the investigation of white phosphorous, said he found similar stories.
“In 2019, some doctors … observed an increase in congenital malformations in the Gynecology and Paediatrics Department at Fallujah Hospital," he stated. " The story began when 33 babies were born deformed in only one day. This caught the attention of the hospital officials. So they started registering the cases during their shifts on a weekly basis. They detected more than 337 cases in 2011 and up to 400 cases in 2012. The figures even increased in 2013."
Meanwhile, another local, Mohammed Jasim Mohammed, believes the chemical contributed to his father’s illness.
"At first, we didn’t have any idea about his disease. Within a month, we discovered that he was at the fourth stage of Pancreatic cancer," he claimed. “The reason is that the city of Fallujah has been a battleground from 2005-2013, especially in the district we are living in. we are not the first or the last case. The US forces bombed the city with white phosphorous and other weapons.”
No direct link between birth defects and cancer, and the use of white phosphorus, has been established in the scientific community, although a 2010 report did find anecdotal evidence of a sharp rise in cancers and birth defects in Fallujah.
"The occupation forces hit Fallujah with white phosphorus and uranium, as a result, we have been suffering from birth defects and illnesses," claimed journalist, Eyad Hussein. "The city of Fallujah is still paying the price; the Fallujah General hospital is still treating birth defects to date.
The US did use depleted uranium weapons in Iraq as well, according to a report by the Dutch peace group Pax, although has denied that it poses a health risk, despite similar claims made about birth defects and cancer rates.
White phosphorus is not banned under the Chemical Weapons Convention but is banned for use against civilian targets.
The 2004 Second Battle of Fallujah, a six-week assault on the city, was widely considered the bloodiest of the conflict. Estimates suggest over one hundred coalition troops, up to 2,000 Iraqi insurgents and hundreds of civilians died.
On March 19, 2003, Washington, along with coalition forces, launched a military offensive on Iraq that toppled Saddam Hussein under the pretext of disarming Iraq’s presumed weapons of mass destruction, plunging Iraq into bloodshed and chaos, resulting in the violent deaths of around 200,000 civilians, according to the Iraq Body Count project, although there are other estimations that increase or decrease this figure.
This was preceded by a series of developments that eventually led to the US deploying its army on the Arab country. On January 28, George Bush addressed the nation making it clear that that the US military campaign to topple Saddam Hussein was only a matter of time.
The US officially withdrew its troops from Iraq by December 2011, but thousands remained as part of security operations or serving as private military contractors. The aftermath of the intervention in the country triggered widespread violence and was linked to the rise of the Islamic State (IS).