FALLUJAH, Iraq, Nov 8 (AFP) - Medics inside Iraq's besieged city of Fallujah on Monday voiced dismay over a lack of vital supplies and staff as a US-led military assault on the rebel-held enclave raged.
Water and electricity had also been cut off since Sunday, further hampering their ability to treat those wounded in a wave of US bombing, as troops battled to gain control of the city, they claimed.
Crack Iraqi troops and US marines seized control of Fallujah's general hospital during a pre-dawn offensive, which triggered a day of violent clashes that finally erupted into a full-scale assault as night fell around 7:00 pm (1600 GMT).
The action came after Prime Minister Iyad Allawi gave his blessing to the assault in a bid to wrest control of what has become the main symbol of the chaos that has jolted Iraq since last year's US-led invasion.
Dr Hashem Issawi, who works in a clinic in the battle-scarred city, said he felt powerless due to a chronic lack of supplies.
"All of the surgeons in the city are blocked in the general hospital and are not permitted to return to Fallujah," he told AFP. "Ambulances have also been confiscated. We lack material and equipment."
At least 12 people were killed and 20 others injured during a relentless torrent of air strikes and ground fire, but the only expert in the clinic was an osteopath who was unable to treat serious wounds, according to the doctor.
Without water and electricity, staff fretted over how they would manage to keep medicine and blood supplies fresh, Issawi said.
Communication was also difficult and telephones only worked sporadically.
The clinic lost its only ambulance on Sunday in the escalating bombardments.
Hazra Mohammadiyah, another makeshift clinic set up inside a mosque in the centre of Fallujah, was slightly more fortunate as it still had one ambulance left to pick up the wounded.
Fallujah has two other medical centres.
Locals are unable to reach the first, Taleb al-Janabi hospital, because it is situated close to a US military base. As for the second, which was built from donations from Bahrain, it has not yet been equipped.
The roads in the centre of the city were all but deserted Monday, except for a few cars driving around to pick up any wounded caught in the shelling, witnesses said.
All exits from the city were totally blocked from the morning and an indefinite curfew was imposed from 6:00 pm (1500 GMT).
11/08/2004 19:48 GMT - AFP