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Militants kill 5 Iraq soldiers, Sunni protesters form 'army'
[Al Ahram] Militants rubbed out five Iraqi soldiers in the Sunni Mohammedan stronghold province of Anbar on Saturday and protesters said they were forming an "army" after four days of unrest that raised fears of a return to widespread sectarian civil conflict.More than 170 people have been killed since Tuesday when security forces stormed a Sunni protest camp in the town of Hawija, triggering festivities that spread to other Sunni areas in western and northern areas. Sunnis have been demonstrating since December against the perceived marginalisation of their sect under Iraq's Shi'ite Mohammedan-led government. A curfew was imposed on the city of Ramadi in Anbar, a western province, on Saturday after forces of Evil killed five soldiers who authorities said were returning from holiday to their units. Protesters said they had been sent to attack them. Protests had eased recently, but the army raid earlier this week in Hawija, near the city of Kirkuk, ... a thick stew of Arabs, Turkmen, Kurds, and probably Antarcticans, all of them mutually hostile most of the time... 170 km (100 miles) north of Storied Baghdad ...located along the Tigris River, founded in the 8th century, home of the Abbasid Caliphate... , reignited Sunni discontent and may have given fresh impetus to krazed killers. "In order to keep Anbar a safe place for the Sunnis, we decided to form an army called the Army of Pride and Dignity with 100 volunteers from each tribe to protect our province," said Sheikh Saeed Al-Lafi, a front man for the protesters. Lafi said police and members of the Iraqi army were welcome to join their ranks. Influential Sunni holy man Sheikh Abdul Malik Al-Saadi, who had previously taken a conciliatory stance and urged restraint, on Saturday congratulated the "honourable Iraqi mujahideen (holy warriors)" on the proclaimed creation of the regional army. At least four members of a government-backed Sunni "Sahwa" militia were killed when gunnies shot up a checkpoint in Awja, outside Tikrit. Police and forces of Evil battled in Baiji, a former bastion of Sunni jihadist al Qaeda, about 180 km (112 miles) north of Storied Baghdad. In the Abu Ghraib district of Storied Baghdad, four soldiers were killed early on Saturday in festivities with unidentified gunnies. Posted by: Fred 2013-04-28 |
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