170320-A-DP764-003 | by 2nd Brigade Combat Team

Lightning illuminates West Mosul as the Iraq Security Forces, supported by Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve, fight to liberate Mosul and defeat ISIS, March 20, 2017. CJTF-OIR is the global Coalition to defeat ISIS in Iraq and Syria.: photo by Staff Sgt. Jason Hull / 2nd Brigade Combat Team 82nd Airborne Division, 20 March 2017

Joseph Ceravolo: Ignorance (Strong)

May 10, 1985

Reporting noise on the west front
rebel soldiers think they
will save the masses.
Soviets march bombs and weapons
in an ignorant display.
America continues to advertise
all that will make you happy.
Ignorant movies try to show,
or ignorant articles try to convince,
that we know soviets
when no one is truly Russian, because
they feel no love for their land.
So it's all a disguise
a confluence of secrecy
in the land of the free
to control the masses
while the little guy gets his head cut off,
or gets shot on a lonely jungle road.

The innocent always pay
what deadly price.
Multitudes marched off
into mass graves prepared by religious
beliefs of superiority.

God talks to no one,
not to the ignorant rigid
the ignorant lying
or the ignorant fanatical

Yes it is just as easy
in our 3 western subterfuges
to be hypocrites
as to be evil.

Reporting noise on all fronts
buildings in rubble
superimposed upon the
lonely bodies of starvation,
while we in the quadrants
wait for a body from some universe
to cut the bread, pour the wine
and wash away the inherent
ignorance of the almighty strong.

Joseph Ceravolo (1934-1988): Ignorance (Strong) [May 10, 1985], from Collected Poems, 2012

"... and wash away the inherent / ignorance of the almighty strong"

BREAKING: US to deploy 200 troops from 82nd Airborne Division to the #MidEast #ISIS #Iraq #Mosul: image via NorthNewsNetwork @NorthNewsNet, 26 March 2017

On #AJNewsGrid: US confirms carrying out airstrikes in #Mosul area where 200 civilians were killed.: image via Al Jazeera English @AJEnglish, 26 March 2017

The suspected site of the airstrike in west Mosul on 17 March, which took place during a battle between Isis and Iraqi forces: photo by Cengiz Yar/The Guardian, 26 March 2017

Shell-shocked Mosul survivors tell of intense airstrike: Hundreds of people have fled west Mosul during a lull in fighting but many had to leave behind family members buried in the remains of their former homes: Martin Chulov in Hamam al-Alil, near Mosul, The Guardian, 26 March 2017

Covered in dust, their hands raw from digging, Ali Assad and his cousin made a desperate choice – to leave their family under the rubble of their west Mosul home and flee while they still could.

The two men were among hundreds to be evacuated on Sunday, during a lull in the fighting prompted by outrage over the high civilian toll caused by multiple airstrikes that have battered the city and its trapped population over the past eight days.

With the ground war now suspended as a result, families that have sheltered in ruins or taken their chances in what is left of their homes have been leaving Mosul in droves, many arriving shell shocked and starving at refugee processing centres on its southern outskirts, where they spoke of more than a week of terror.

“There are six of my family still under our house,” said Assad, 32, cupping his raw hands. “My father, I saw him die in front of me, my brother, two sisters and two cousins. My mother survived, but then she was hit by some other explosion and a concrete slab fell on her. She’s badly hurt.”

Both men said that 15 people remained buried under three homes in the Yarmouk area of Mosul after a series of airstrikes on 22 March. The attacks took place amid a barrage of strikes by jets in support of a ground push by Iraqi forces that started around 17 March. On that afternoon, the Mosul Jadida neighbourhood was also repeatedly hit, leading to what could be the highest civilian toll of any airstrike in the region since the invasion of Iraq 14 years ago. At least 150 people are thought to have been killed, many of whom died during the five days it took for help to arrive.

At least 80 people are believed to have died while taking shelter in the basement of one of the houses hit, the largest in the neighbourhood, in which local families had sought refuge. Assad said dozens of people remained buried under rubble in the Yarmouk and Jadida neighbourhoods. “There is no civilian defence, no rescue teams. It is only us and our hands. Everyone has to fend for themselves.”

The lack of a coordinated rescue effort is being blamed by local authorities on the fighting, which has ground to a stalemate as Isis attempts to consolidate its losses and dig in around the centre of west Aleppo, a densely packed area of homes and narrow roads.

Numerous survivors of the fighting have spoken of people, among them children, shouting for help from the ruins, but having no help from local authorities, or access to digging equipment to use by themselves.

An Iraqi rescue crew in west Mosul on Friday: photo by Cengiz Yar/The Guardian, 26 March 2017

“There was not a thing we could do,” said another evacuee, Abdul Wahab Hashimi, who said his neighbours’ bodies remained buried in the ruins of their home in the Mansour district. Residents of west Mosul had been seen as the most vulnerable population in the fight against the terror group. Up to 350,000 people are thought to remain in the city, some being used by Isis as human shields and others unable to flee until the fighting opens up a front for them.

Even then, the escape is typically a dangerous walk through a battlefield, before a long fraught journey to a refugee camp. Jonathan Whittall, project co-ordinator for an MSF medical centre south of Mosul, said: “We have ... witnessed a disturbing trend of some patients reaching our hospital after a significant delay of up to four days.

“One father and son that I met recently had been trapped under rubble for four days after an airstrike and they reached us exhausted, hungry and bewildered. Others who are wounded further away from the front lines into west Mosul can only reach us after the frontline has moved and they are able to escape. We are very concerned about the patients who are unable to reach us and whose treatment is delayed.”

The medical centre, the largest in the area, was nearly empty on Sunday for the first time since it opened several months ago. Since then, MSF alone has treated 1,500 people for conflict-related trauma, many of the cases severe or life threatening.

Medics supporting the Mosul operation said it is difficult to be specific about the proportion of casualties they are treating who were wounded by airstrikes as opposed to other weapons of war. However, the high number of people buried under rubble indicates that attacks from jets make up a significant component.

US military officials have acknowledged that the strike on Mosul Jadida was carried out by coalition jets and said it was requested by Iraqi officers. US Central Command has launched a formal investigation. While ground fighting stopped on Sunday, fighter jets were still present in the skies above Mosul. US officials said five airstrikes targeting Isis near Mosul were carried out on Saturday.

At the refugee processing centre, Brig Hisham al-Assadi, a senior intelligence official for Iraq’s special operations forces, said: “We try very hard to limit casualties, but Isis blends among them. They are happy when civilians are killed. This is war and we wish it was different. They don’t speak, they don’t say a word when they get here,” he said of the refugees. “We tell them, ‘you don’t have to fear any more,’ then we take them to the camps.”

On the road past the rubbish-strewn yard where army trucks disgorge Mosul’s latest refugees, an American convoy rumbled past, while more jets roared overhead. Their presence went unnoticed by men and boys who lined up to receive water and no one seemed prepared to blame any side for their misery. A father approached the Guardian and said: “My little boy loves the taste of American cakes, do you have any?”

After an airstrike that claimed over 200 lives in #Mosul, the US coordinated #MosulOffensive against #ISIS continues into its 5th month: image via NorthNewsNetwork @NorthNewsNet, 26 March 2017

Saw too much to comprehend in the al-Jadida neighborhood of Mosul today.: image via Marcus Yam @yamphoto, 24 March 2017

Ahmed from #Mosul Al Jididah hasn't heard from his sister since the airstrike - fears 200 killed: image via Sophie McNeill @SophieMcNeill, 26 March 2017

2) Pics courtesy of Jérémy André at Mediapart. In this one, Khalef Khudair shows the IDs of his relatives killed in the airstrike: image via Airwars @airwars, 25 March 2017

Muna, just left IS controlled Mosul, lost 9 family members in air strike. She says 100s bodies still under rubble.: image via Jeremy Bowen @BowenBBC, 25 March 2017

#Iraq Burials of air-strike victims were carried out in large Mass graves in West Mosul: image via Battle Analytics @BattleAnalytics, 25 March 2017

Nineveh Media Centre has posted more photos of mass burials in Mosul for recent victims of the al Jadida strike: image via Airwars @airwars, 25 March 2017

Contradicting Pentagon, Iraqi special forces officer says Trump has already eased rules against civilian deaths.: image via Kenneth Roth @KenRoth, 25 March 2017

New: 26 named civilians died in a March 14 airstrike at al Mahatta, Mosul by an F-16 [could be US, Iraq or Belgian]: image via Airwars @Airwars, 25 March 2017

MotherboardVerified account @motherboard
The US is bombing Syria so much that watchdog groups can't keep up http://bit.ly/2nMHaQM
Airwars Retweeted Motherboard
Airwars added,
Good detail here on how we go about assessing civilian casualty claims - and why spike in Coalition #s meant we had to pause some Russia work
image via Airwars @airwars, 26 March 2017

1) Given record Coalition civilian casualty claims - with 1,000 deaths already alleged in March - Airwars is making some major changes: image via Airwars @airwars, 26 March 2017

#SyrianRussianAlliance forces shelled market in Hamoriya town in #DamascusSuburbs on Mar 25 #SNHR: image via Syria Network @snhr, 25 March 2017

I have machines

IRAQ - A counter terrorism forces member stands guard in al-Jadida area following air strikes during #MosulOffensive. Photo Ahmad Al-Rubaye: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 26 March 2017

IRAQ - In Iraq's Mosul, a school becomes a field hospital Photo @ahmadgharabli4: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 26 March 2017

Iraq - People walk in Mosul's al-Zahraa neighbourhood as they flee during an ongoing military operation against Islamic State (IS). @dilkoff #AFP: image via Aurelia BAILLY @AureliaBAILLY, 9 January 2017

IRAQ - A displaced Iraqi man who fled the violence in Mosul, waits to charge his mobile phone at the Hasan Sham camp. By @dilkoff #AFP: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 10 January 2017

J.H. Almeida: Garage Sale (everything must go!)

I have machines.

So much so!

It is hard to count.

With hands of their own

white, lily, dripping dew

and fog.

Fast!

for us,

they say.

Machine hands,

Lily-white,

dropping

phosphorous.

IRAQ - A displaced boy who fled the violence in Mosul, looks through an open door at the Hasan Sham camp for displaced people. By @dilkoff #AFP: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 9 January 2017

a cup of coffee in the ruins

SYRIA - Umm Mohammed and her husband drink coffee at their destroyed home in the rebel-held town of Douma near Damascus. Photo @SameerAlDoumy: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 26 March 2017

buildings in rubble... the innocent always pay

Um Mohammed, 62 years old, lives with her husband who due to an air strike injury lost the ability to walk. #Syria Ph: @SameerAlDoumy #AFP: image via Sameer Al-Doumy @SameerAlDoumy, 26 March 2017

SYRIA - Umm Mohammed washes laundry at her home in the rebel-held town of Douma near Damascus. Photo @SameerAlDoumy: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 26 March 2017

Um Mohammed, 62 years old, lives with her husband who due to an air strike injury lost the ability to walk. #Syria Ph: @SameerAlDoumy #AFP: image via Sameer Al-Doumy @SameerAlDoumy, 26 March 2017

Terror attack in eastern #Mosul. Da'ish fired mortars from the western side of the city on the Nabi Younis market on the eastern side.: image via Haidar Sumeri @IraqSecurity, 26 March 2017

IRAQ - A mushroom cloud is seen in the sky after a car bomb exploded in Mosul, during an ongoing military operation against IS. By @dilkoff #AFP: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 9 January 2017

SYRIA - A Syrian displaced due to the ongoing fighting, sits next to her son suffering from shell shock in Hamouri. Photo @AbdDoumany: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 26 March 2017

IRAQ - Displaced Iraqis who fled the violence in Mosul are reflected in a window of a fast-food shop at the Khazer refugee camp. By @dilkoff #AFP: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 10 January 2017

IRAQ - A young vegetables vendor rests at the Khazer refugee camp for displaced people who fled the violence in Mosul. By @dilkoff #AFP: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 9 January 2017

Operation Incoherent Dissolve