A US general called on militants in Fallujah yesterday to join a bilateral ceasefire. Insurgents struck US troops in Baghdad and central Iraq, setting a tank on fire in the capital and engaging in battles that killed 40 Iraqis, a US spokesman said.
There was no immediate response from Sunni insurgents to the general's call in Fallujah, where bloody fighting has been raging all week, and a team of Iraqi leaders from Baghdad entered the city to hold talks with local leaders. Marine commanders said they had no orders yet for a full ceasefire.
Explosions and sporadic gunfire were heard yesterday afternoon, and the Marines largely remained in the industrial zone they hold in the eastern part of the city. Some Marines moved a few blocks into a nearby neighborhood, breaking into homes, witnesses said, in an apparent attempt to clear out gunmen firing on them.
"Today what we are seeking is a bilateral ceasefire on the battlefield so we can allow for discussions," Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt told reporters in Baghdad.
"This is an aspiration," he said. He added that he was "hoping to get this messsage to the enemy through this press conference" and the Arabic press "so they can join the ceasefire."
In Fallujah, a party of 35 Iraqi officials -- including several Governing Council members -- entered the beseiged city yesterday to hold talks with local leaders. Council members have expressed increasing anger over the US siege, calling it a "mass punishment" for its 200,000 residents.
The purpose of the talks was unclear. Kimmitt underlined that the talks were going on with city officials who "want to see Iraqi police back in the police stations, that want to see Iraqi Civil Defense Corps members walking the streets of Fallujah, that want to see the Iraqi army walking the streets of Fallujah."
A Marine commander said he had no orders yet for a full cease-fire.
"I've got no direction of any kind on a ceasefire, so I will continue to fight until I'm instructed to do differently. I don't know what the word is from Baghdad, but I've got word from my higher headquarters, and if they wanted me to hold up, they would tell me," said Lieutenant Colonel Brennan Byrne, commanding officer of the 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment.
Despite heavy fighting since Monday morning, Marines have insisted they were winning the battle to uproot Sunni insurgents in Fallujah.
When ordered on Friday to halt all offensive operations, Marines complained that doing so would expose them to insurgent attacks. So they demanded and received the right to conduct offensive operations necessary to prevent attacks on their positions -- a more aggressive stance than merely responding to attacks, a tactic which the Marines say is useless in guerrilla-style warfare.
The Marines have been in position encircling Fallujah and in a large industrial zone inside the southeastern part of the city.
After the unilateral halt began, they did not advance into residential areas to engage gunmen there. But one Marine was killed Friday and another wounded in combat.
Also See Story:
Support for al-Sadr seen widening
CALL FOR SUPPORT: President William Lai called on lawmakers across party lines to ensure the livelihood of Taiwanese and that national security is protected President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday called for bipartisan support for Taiwan’s investment in self-defense capabilities at the christening and launch of two coast guard vessels at CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard in Kaohsiung. The Taipei (台北) is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels, and the Siraya (西拉雅) is the Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) first-ever ocean patrol vessel, the government said. The Taipei is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels with a displacement of about 4,000 tonnes, Lai said. This ship class was ordered as a result of former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) 2018
UKRAINE, NVIDIA: The US leader said the subject of Russia’s war had come up ‘very strongly,’ while Jenson Huang was hoping that the conversation was good Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and US President Donald Trump had differing takes following their meeting in Busan, South Korea, yesterday. Xi said that the two sides should complete follow-up work as soon as possible to deliver tangible results that would provide “peace of mind” to China, the US and the rest of the world, while Trump hailed the “great success” of the talks. The two discussed trade, including a deal to reduce tariffs slapped on China for its role in the fentanyl trade, as well as cooperation in ending the war in Ukraine, among other issues, but they did not mention
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi yesterday lavished US President Donald Trump with praise and vows of a “golden age” of ties on his visit to Tokyo, before inking a deal with Washington aimed at securing critical minerals. Takaichi — Japan’s first female prime minister — pulled out all the stops for Trump in her opening test on the international stage and even announced that she would nominate him for a Nobel Peace Prize, the White House said. Trump has become increasingly focused on the Nobel since his return to power in January and claims to have ended several conflicts around the world,
GLOBAL PROJECT: Underseas cables ‘are the nervous system of democratic connectivity,’ which is under stress, Member of the European Parliament Rihards Kols said The government yesterday launched an initiative to promote global cooperation on improved security of undersea cables, following reported disruptions of such cables near Taiwan and around the world. The Management Initiative on International Undersea Cables aims to “bring together stakeholders, align standards, promote best practices and turn shared concerns into beneficial cooperation,” Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said at a seminar in Taipei. The project would be known as “RISK,” an acronym for risk mitigation, information sharing, systemic reform and knowledge building, he said at the seminar, titled “Taiwan-Europe Subsea Cable Security Cooperation Forum.” Taiwan sits at a vital junction on
RSS