



ERBIL, Kurdistan region- Security officials and tribal leaders in Ramadi held a conference on Saturday to discuss ways to prevent any possible comeback of Islamic State (ISIS) militants to liberated areas and facilitate the return of refugees.Acting Anbar governor Ali Farhan told Rudaw that the focus areas were the recently liberated of Zankhurah, Tawi and Al-Burisha.“Many strategies were discussed to bring back the refugees to their homes and returning basic services to the neighborhoods,” Farhan said.The governor said he acknowledged the important role the mayor and local officials could play in making this plan work and that he would lend them his support.Fallujah was reclaimed by the Iraqi army in June after more than a year and a half under ISIS control.City and provincial councils kicked off a campaign to bringing life back to Fallujah by the removal of rubble and explosives left behind by the radical group.Sabah al-Azawi, an Iraqi army officer based in Fallujah said that there are still ISIS dead bodies in the area that must be removed in order to prevent the spread of diseases.“After liberating Zankura, we will move the corpses of ISIS to prevent the spread of diseases, and try to bring back the families to their areas,” Azawi told Rudaw.According to Sheikh Ehsan al-Asafi, a prominent tribal figure in Zankura, people in his village have given a list of 150 locals who had joined ISIS to the army and demanded that they should never be allowed to return to the area.Thousands of people fled Fallujah and surrounding areas during weeks of intense battle between Iraqi troops, Shiite militia and ISIS militants.They were settled in temporary camps set up by the UN and Norwegian Refugee Council.Provincial authorities led by governor Suhaib al-Rawi have now called on all civilians and government employees to return home while the UN mission in Baghdad has urged that all returns must be voluntary and without discrimination.The Iraqi army is also taking measures to protect Fallujah city from revenge attacks by the Islamic State. They are building a trench around the city, Associated Press reported on Saturday.Deputy commander of Iraq’s counterterrorism forces, Lt. Gen. Abdul Wahab al-Saadi, told AP that the trench will be about 11 kilometres long and will have one sole entrance for residents to enter and leave the city.This will allow security forces to monitor the movements of residents and, they hope, keep them safe.Digging the trench has begun in the north and northwest side of the city. It will be about 12.5 metres wide and 1.5 metres deep.