US troops have arrested tribal sheikh Hatem al-Assy al-Obeidi, who presides over a million-strong clan, on suspicion of abetting sabotage of fuel pipelines. "US forces broke into Sheikh Hatem al-Obeidi's house in al-Ramal village and his nephew's house in al-Asar village where they found several weapons and four million Iraqi dinars [around $US2,700] with some gold and a rocket-propelled grenade launcher," one source said. "They charged Sheikh Obeidi with supporting terrorism and breaking the agreement with American forces to protect the oil lines and the electrical power lines and to protect the road between Kirkuk and Tikrit."
An oil pipeline linking Kirkuk oilfields with the Baiji refinery to the south was on fire Saturday afternoon local time, after a possible sabotage attack, the US military said. On August 18, Obeidi said it was possible some of his own clan members were carrying out attacks on oil pipelines. "Some of my tribe are without work - maybe they're the ones attacking the lines," the sheikh said in his family diwan [salon], where he regularly holds court with some of the 300,000 clan members in the area around Kirkuk. "When I get answers from them [the Americans] to solve my relatives' problems, then I'll talk to my tribe," Obeidi said about wayward elements who may be involved in outlaw activities.
| "Meanwhile, we'll keep blowing things up..." |
Obeidi had signed an agreement with the Americans in late July to guard a 90-kilometre stretch of eight oil pipelines and three power cables between Kirkuk and Baiji, site of Iraq's largest fuel refinery. Obeidi's three-month contract with the Americans was reached as the military, coping with a spate of attacks on oil facilities and the electricity grid, decided it was better to turn to the tribes for protection than go it alone. The Americans had previously rejected an offer from his tribe in April to guard the pipelines before coming back to him after a rash of sabotage, Obeidi said.
| He sent Tessio to make them another offer... |
Under Saddam, Obeidi said the state hired 700 of his tribesmen to guard the fuel lines, each paid a salary of 200 dollars a month. On top of that, the state would reward Obeidi himself with a bonus of between 1,000 and 2,500 dollars on the holiday marking the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. In contrast, the Americans are only paying him enough to hire 100 of his relatives to watch the pipelines and power cables, at a monthly salary of 100 dollars. That leaves 600 of his tribesmen without their old jobs. "I don't think these attacks will stop until we find my relatives jobs guarding pipelines," he said.
| "What do you think, Clemenza?" |
Asked about Obeidi last Tuesday, US Colonel R W Nicholson, head of the Combat Engineers of the 4th Infantry Division, expressed frustration with the sheikh. "He has a responsibility to guard the pipeline as an Iraqi citizen," he said and warned Obeidi "will face the consequences" if he does not keep the pipeline secure regardless of salaries paid out by the Americans. Colonel Nicholson said Obeidi "owed him" after US troops found two unexploded Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) on the stretch of pipeline guarded by his tribe a week earlier. |