Reports From Irak May 19th 2007 Summarised From Arabic - Part 1
This is part 1 of a joint posting covering today’s events in Irak.
Fatima
Diyala
In Diyala at 8:30 am today gunmen attacked a civilian car carrying six people on the main road linking Baghdad and al-Khalis, 2 of the passengers were killed and 4 wounded.
Hamid Shafi Massacre Briefing:
The gang that stormed a border village and massacred many of the inhabitants are being described as fighters from the so-called “Islamic State of Iraq.”
That may or may not be the case.
The village itself is in a fairly rugged area near the Iranian border. The inhabitants are a minority Kurdish group called “Failis”. Faliis are Shia and they have been subjected to major attacks on several occasions. The best known example of such an attack is probably the November 18th 2005 suicide bombings of Shia devotees as they gathered at Khanaqin. There have been plenty of other attacks on Kurdish people in that region of Diyala.
This attack may well have been a sectarian attack. But it could also be one of the many ethnic cleansing attacks taking part in mixed areas of Irak.
One aspect of the attack that inclines me to believe that it probably was a sectarian attack, rather than a land-grab, or ethnic cleansing, is the excuse used by the attackers to lull their victims — that it was a raid being undertaken as part of the campaign being run by the green zone government Interior Ministry to reduce the amount of weaponry circulating in Irak.
م markfromireland
Also in Diyala at dawn this morning 4 carloads of gunmen dressed in green zone government army unforms detained and shot dead 13 16 residents of Hamid Shafi ( a village near Mandali). All of the victims were members of the same tribe. All were Kurdish. All were Shia. According to accounts from locals the murderers who were dressed in green zone government army unforms arrived at the village and claimed that they were in search illegal weapons they went through the hosues in the village searatThe green zone government. They then separated men from women and children and shot their victims. There is one report on AFP citing local sources that one woman is amongst the killed.
Karbala Raids
The Sadrist Office in Karbala has denounced last night’s raids on the homes of 10 Sadrist officials in Al-Hindiyah district (20 km east of Karbala city). During the raid their families were detained by the SIIC (SCIRI) dominated police. No reason has been given for the detentions. It is not known whether the officials were present when their homes were raided. The Sadrist office in Karbala has described the action as “lawless” and demanded the release of the family members saying that:
“If there was an arrest warrant it must specify the wanted person only and not his family.”
Amarah Agreement:
More than 60 tribal leaders, representatives of Islamic parties, local officials, security officials, and notables of the province took part in the conference organised by Muqtada Al Sadr’s office in, Amarah, Maysan.
The conference, the first of it’s kind, has resulted in the signing of a decalaration which all present have agreed to enforce the heads of which include:
- No firing shots at public events.
- No defamation of opponents.
- No protection of saboteurs or embezzlers - even in the case of family or tribe members.
- The city to be divided into 6 sectors specific police units to be allocated to each sector.
- Checkpoints and night curfews of motor traffic (other than for the police and security personnel mandated by Islamic parties.)
- Government departments, auditors, and managers to have direct supervision of projects in the district and to monitorthe work of contractors.
- Monthly or semi-monthly meetings of the municipal council. - Council transactions to be published.
Basrah - Arrest Of Sadrist Leader:
The British are reported to have detained Sheikh Aws al-Khafaji at Basra airport. Sheikh Aws al-Khafaji is a senior figure in the Sadr movement. He is a member of the Sadrist supreme council and was appointed by Muqtada al-Sadr to be the Friday sermon preacher in al-Nassiriyah. (See also Thursday’s posting )Update: Al Sadr’s office have denounced the arrest and called for calm in the face of provocation. They have also used the occasion to reiterate:”we renew our call for the withdrawal of occupiers from Iraq, which was and still is behind all the strife and turmoil in the country.”
Fatima, Hassan Abu Omar, markfromireland
Indexed under: Amarah, Baghdad, Disputed Areas, Diyala, Khalis, Kirkuk, Kirkuk (At-Ta'mim) Governorate, Maysan (Governorate)
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