Fallujah 'very secure and peaceful'

FALLUJAH, Iraq, Jan. 11 (UPI) -- Fallujah's city council chairman and police chief reported on positive developments in a live "state of the city" address.

Councilman Sheik Hamid Ahmed and Col. Faisal Ismail Husayn delivered the state of Fallujah address highlighting the current state of affairs live from the city's new television studio, a report from the 2nd Marine Division said.

"(Fallujah) is living in security and reconstruction because the leadership of the city was put in the hands of the good people," Ahmed said through an interpreter.

Local leaders and tribal councils worked with coalition forces to rebuild the city following Operation Phantom Fury, an insurgent clearing operation led by U.S. forces in 2004.

"Today the situation is special, very secure and peaceful," Husayn said.

The central government of Iraq awarded nearly 1,000 government-backed jobs to Fallujah residents and new businesses took over the role of the management of public services.

The new Fallujah Business Development Center opened to oversee reconstruction efforts there and serves as a focal point to invite Iraq's neighbors to invest in the community.

"Fallujah is ready for major investment," said Ahmed. "From this place, we call on all the investors from the Arab nations and international nations to come and invest in the district of Fallujah."