Families begin to flee Baghdad suburb as US-led forces strike

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/IRIN/c3a8ebc4cc671d792238291e30b8f894.htm

BAGHDAD, 7 May 2007 (IRIN) - Dozens of families started to flee Sadr City, the main Shi'a district of Baghdad, on Sunday following raids by US-led forces against suspected militants.

"The raids were unexpected and, as Sadr City is a violent neighbourhood, some families are fleeing the area looking for displacement camps in the outskirts of the capital. Many of them have travelled to Najaf and Kerbala in the south," said Hussam al-Din, president of the Baghdad-based Iraqi Humanitarian Association for the Displaced (IHAD).

"Local NGOs are desperate because we cannot reach the area for security reasons and fleeing families are leaving their homes without enough money to support themselves," al-Din said.

NGOs are trying to help but say they would not be able to cope if families continue to flee the district, more so since most of the district's residents are poor, he added.

Some 400 may have fled

[babylonsister]

1. Imagine how afraid they are, and where will they all go?

Great job, America. Winning hearts and minds yet again.

[Rex]

2. If you terrify families, does that make you a terrorist?

I'm just curious, since that would mean I am represented by a government full of terrorists. :(