Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Sunni tribe forms Shura Council, asks for reconciliation with Mujahideen
Insurgency, Tribal
The Sunni Bubaz tribe, a large clan in the region of Samarra, Baghdad and Diyala in Iraq, issued a statement on Wednesday, October 4, 2006, which has appeared on jihadist forums. The message announces the formation of a Shura Council composed of leaders from the three areas, and further, responds to the call of Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, the Emir of al-Qaeda in Iraq, for reconciliation between the Mujahideen and tribes, which was approved of by Sunni scholar, Sheikh Hareth al-Dhari. Recognizing what they perceive as the enemy’s attempts to ruin the relationship between the Mujahideen and tribes, the group has decided: “To declare permanent reconciliation between the warring groups… [such] opens the field for the sons of the tribe to follow any faction or Jihadi brigade they wish to join in the quest for reward from Allah and destruction of the Crusader invade”.
The Shura Council of the Bubaz Tribe states: “Accordingly we will strike with an iron hand according to Shari'a and spill the blood of all who stand in the way of the project of reconciliation and brotherhood among the people of the tribe and our brothers on the path of Jihad, whatever their name is or rank in the tribe”. In an audio statement issued by the Mujahideen Shura Council in Iraq on Thursday, September 28, 2006, the Emir of al-Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, offered reconciliation for the month of Ramadan between the Mujahideen and those Sunni tribes which had fought them.
The Shura Council of the Bubaz Tribe states: “Accordingly we will strike with an iron hand according to Shari'a and spill the blood of all who stand in the way of the project of reconciliation and brotherhood among the people of the tribe and our brothers on the path of Jihad, whatever their name is or rank in the tribe”. In an audio statement issued by the Mujahideen Shura Council in Iraq on Thursday, September 28, 2006, the Emir of al-Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, offered reconciliation for the month of Ramadan between the Mujahideen and those Sunni tribes which had fought them.
COMMENT: If the Mujahideen Shura Council accepts these terms, the extra tribal support will strengthen the Sunni insurgency, there is a possibility other tribes will follow the Al-Bubaz and with the tribes united with the Mujahideen as opposed to fighting them they can switch their focus to the U.S. and Iraqi security forces which means violnece against them is likely to escalate. This announcement shows how important it is to win the tribes over and to try and involve them politicallyin order to stabilise the country. However, in the past, giving them to much power has become a problem.
The history of the Al-Bubaz tribe is complex and they have fought the insurgents as well as collaborated with them. A year ago the Al-Bubaz tribe were asked to cooperate with the Americans by providing security. This offended the other tribes and led to fighting with the Al-Bubadri tribe. The Al-Bubaz tribe is one of the six tribes that refused to support the Iraqi government and hunt al-Qaeda. According to the New York Times on October 6, 2006, 25 out of 31 tribes in al-Anbar vowed to fight al-Qaeda. According to the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) on June 30, 2006, the Al-Bubaz decided to oversee the movements of the tribes between Samarra, Tikrit and Baiji in coordination with local police.
Nine tribes agreed to purge the region of Al-Zarqawi's men, to fight the [Islamist] extremist ideology from the bottom up, and to establish a committee for defending the borders of the Salah Al-Din [district] in order to prevent foreign [jihad fighters] from entering it - Al-Bu'abas, Al-Bubaz, Al-Bunisan, Al-Bubdari, Al-Hamadaniyan, Al-Qaysiyin, Al-Jbour, Al-Dulaym, and Al-Janabiyin. A cease fire was reached in February 2006 under which the Al-Qaeda leader was expelled from Samarra and supporters of Al-Zarqawi stopped operations in the city and killing the Al-Bubaz tribesmen. In exchange, the tribe undertook to provide logistical help to Al-Qaeda in its war against the American forces. COMMENT ENDS.
