(VOVworld) - The Iraqi Defense Ministry has declared a 72-hour ceasefire in the city of Fallujah to give a chance for peaceful efforts to clear the city from al-Qaida militants.

Anti-government fighters aim their weapons as they hold a position in Anbar city in Fallujah, Iraq (photo: AFP/File)

The Defense Minister announced the decision on Saturday at the request of people in Fallujah and as a gesture of goodwill by the armed forces which came to protect the people of the city from the terrorist organization.
UN statistics show that more than 8,800 people were killed in 2013, the highest annual death toll in years.