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al-Maliki to send reinforcements to Anbar
BAGHDAD -- Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Wednesday reversed a decision to withdraw troops from tense cities in Anbar province, and will instead deploy reinforcements, state television reported."We will not withdraw the army" and "we will send additional forces," it quoted Maliki as saying in response to requests from residents and the government of the province west of Baghdad. Maliki had announced on Tuesday that soldiers would withdraw from Anbar cities and hand over control to local police, in an apparent bid to calm tensions after security forces tore down a sprawling anti-government protest camp in the province. Clashes between security forces and militants broke out as the camp near the provincial capital of Ramadi was closed on Monday. More than a dozen people have died in the fighting, which continued for a third day on Wednesday. Protests broke out in Sunni Arab-majority areas of Iraq late last year after the arrest of guards of then-finance minister Rafa al-Essawi, an influential Sunni Arab, on terrorism charges. The arrests were seen by Sunnis as yet another example of the Shiite-led government targeting one of their leaders. Posted by: Steve White 2014-01-02 |
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