The Fallujah massacres of April 2003 began when
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
soldiers from the American
1st Battalion, 325th Infantry Regiment of the
82nd Airborne Division
The 82nd Airborne Division is an Airborne forces, airborne infantry division (military), division of the United States Army specializing in Paratrooper, parachute assault operations into hostile areasSof, Eric"82nd Airborne Division" ''Spec Ops ...
fired into a crowd of
Iraq
Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
i civilians who were protesting their presence at a school in the city of
Fallujah, killing 17 protestors.
History
On the evening of April 28, 2003, several hundred civilians ignored a
curfew imposed on them by the occupying
U.S. military. They proceeded to march through the streets of Fallujah, past the soldiers positioned in the
Ba'ath party headquarters. They wished to protest outside a local school about the United States military presence within. A U.S. Army
Psychological Operations team attempted to force the civilians to disperse with announcements, but the team failed in this attempt. According to locals, at this point the United States soldiers fired upon the unarmed crowd, killing 17 and wounding more than 70 of the protesters. The U.S. suffered no casualties from the incident. According to the soldiers on the ground, the 82nd Airborne soldiers inside the school responded to "effective fire" from inside the protesting crowd.
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...
inspected the area after the incident, and were unable to conclusively identify evidence of bullet damage to the building where U.S. forces were based.
Two days later, on April 30, the 82nd Airborne was replaced in the city by the
U.S. 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment. The 3rd Cavalry was significantly smaller in number and chose not to occupy the same schoolhouse where the shooting had occurred two days earlier. Some U.S. soldiers were hurt in a retaliatory grenade attack on the Ba'ath headquarters later that evening.
[
]
See also
* ''
Rules of Engagement'', a 2000 film displaying a similar incident, albeit of U.S. Marines under perceived attack from a supposedly hostile crowd
References
External links
''U.S. Troops Fire on Iraqi Protesters, Leaving 15 Dead''Human Rights Watch: IV. April 28 School Protest and Shooting
{{Iraq War
2003 murders in Iraq
Massacres in 2003
Anbar campaign (2003–2011)
Civilian casualties in the Iraq War
Massacres of the Iraq War
Massacres committed by the United States
April 2003 in Iraq
George W. Bush administration controversies
Iraq War crimes by the United States
Fallujah in the Iraq War
Massacres of protesters in Asia