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              Shi'ite Militias Mass for Possible Ramadi Offensive

   by VOA News

   Shi'ite militias massed Tuesday outside the Iraqi city of Ramadi ahead
   of a possible offensive to try to recapture the Anbar provincial
   capital from Islamic State militants.

   An operation carried out alongside Iraqi government forces would
   resemble the one the same paramilitary troops took part in last month
   to regain control of Tikrit. That effort halted Islamic State momentum
   toward the capital, Baghdad, from the north, and now the focus is on
   preventing an advance from the west of the city.

   Iraq's Defense Ministry released a video Tuesday showing the rescue of
   28 soldiers after the Islamic State group seized Ramadi in several days
   of fighting that sent Iraqi troops fleeing and prompted Prime Minister
   Haider al-Abadi to call for militia help.

   The White House said Monday that President Barack Obama is receiving
   regular briefings on the situation. Spokesman Eric Schultz also
   reiterated U.S. support to Iraqis battling to retake the city. He said
   eight coalition airstrikes have targeted the city since Sunday -- part
   of an onslaught of 32 such strikes in the past three weeks.

   The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin Dempsey,
   called Islamic State gains at Ramadi "a serious setback for its
   long-suffering inhabitants." He said such setbacks are "regrettable,
   but not uncommon in warfare."

   Authorities say the fighting in Ramadi has killed 500 people.

   Sabah Karhout Al Helbusi, head of the Anbar provincial council, told
   VOA's Kurdish service Monday that a "humanitarian catastrophe" was
   under way in the city.

   A United Nations spokesman said 6,500 families have been displaced,
   with most fleeing eastward toward Fallujah and Khalidiyah. He said U.N.
   agencies and others are delivering aid, including food, tents and
   mobile medical units.

   But U.N. agencies warn that their stocks are running low and funds are
   running out.
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   adi-offensive/2777102.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/shiite-militias-mass-for-possible-ramadi-offensive/2777102.html