http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/IRIN/7b0ca4b5eba9fb35ff964b5058eed9c2.htmBAGHDAD, 20 June (IRIN) - Aid agencies and doctors have called on Coalition forces in Iraq to allow them safe access to the village of Karabila in the west of the country, as battles between troops and insurgents continue.
"The situation is critical in the village of Karabila. Hundreds of injured people are inside the town requiring urgent medical treatment but have been prohibited to leave the village by US forces and we are not authorised to enter there," Dr Hamed al-Alousi, director at the nearby al-Qaim general hospital, said.
'Operation Spear', launched on 17 June, is the second Coalition offensive in the Anbar governorate designed to root out insurgents and prevent foreign rebels using the region as a staging post en route from Syria.
Karabila is close to the Syrian border and home to some 60,000 people. Al-Qaim, recently the scene of similar battles, is the nearest town to the village, some 320 km west of the capital, Baghdad.