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Al-Sadr Death Squads Slaughter Baghdad Sunnis
Death Squads Terrorize BaghdadDer Spiegel, Germany By Erwin Decker in Baghdad Shiite death squads are spreading fear in Baghdad's Sunni neighborhoods. Meanwhile, politicians and police are growing powerless as the outbreak of a civil war becomes ever more likely in Iraq. Name names!!! The "men in black" are the al-Sadrite Shiites from the al-Sadr suburb of Baghdad. Death squads are stalking Sunnis in Shiite-dominated Baghdad neighborhoods. When the men in black drive down his street, Ali Hasan al-Mahawish calls out to his playing children to come into the house immediately. He bolts the door, scared. This time it might be his family's turn. The men drive past at walking speed, clutching their guns. It's obvious they know exactly which houses the Sunnis live in. Mahawish is an engineer and a Sunni -- a potential victim of the death squads. And Western coverage of over 1500 murders since Feb. 22, has been crappy. Death squads are becoming part of everyday life in Baghdad's Sunni neighborhoods. Sunnis living in the Khadamiya neighborhood are terrorized daily. Sometimes the men in black shoot randomly into their houses and backyards. Sometimes they give the residents five minutes to leave, then set fire to the house. Those Sunni's who aren't simply executed by their neighbors are being systematically driven out of the city's Shiite neighborhoods. "Ethnic cleansing" in Baghdad? Well, Shiites in the Sunni Triangle aren't doing much better. According to a recent United Nations report, this type of "ethnic cleansing" has spread dramatically in Baghdad, a city of 6 million. And no one can stop the death squads, least of all the police. Six neighborhoods have already fallen prey to organized terror. Weeks have passed since the police was last seen in these neighborhoods, and Sunnis are now more afraid of the men in black than of the daily air raids... From a counter-terror point of view, the polarization will likely create a much larger centrist group that will seek US support against the two enemies: al-Qaeda in Iraq and Black February. Posted by: Listen To Dogs 2006-03-17 |
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