Thousands flee Ramadi, allowed in to Baghdad

20 May 2015, 3:38 pm

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An Iraqi official says the government has granted conditional entry to Baghdad for thousands of displaced people fleeing violence in nearby Anbar province.

Athal al-Fahdawi, an Anbar councilman, says that thousands of civilians from the city of Ramadi were allowed to cross a bridge spanning the Euphrates River and enter Baghdad province.

Residents from the city of Ramadi, who fled their homes on May 16, 2015 as Islamic State (IS) group militants tightened their siege on the last government positions in the capital of Anbar province, wait to cross Bzeibez bridge on the southwestern frontier of Baghdad with Anbar province. IS group jihadists took control of all the other routes connecting the province with the Iraqi capital. (AFP/ SABAH ARAR)

According to the International Organization for Migration, more than 40,000 people have been displaced from Anbar province since Friday when the provincial capital Ramadi was conquered by the Islamic State group. In the past, people fleeing Anbar have been prevented from entering Baghdad due to fear that militants might mingle with the crowds and sneak into the capital.

— AP