Thursday, October 05, 2006
Tribal leaders sign pact to end violence
Tribal, Security
Iraqi tribal leaders have met in Babylon governorate south of Baghdad and signed a pact of honour to end the violence and the forced eviction of people from their homes. About 70 tribal leaders representing tribes in Babylon and Wasit governorates held their meeting on Wednesday in a school building near al-Hilla, the capital of Babylon, and exchanged views on how to stop death squads from killing and forcing people out of their homes along sectarian lines.
The leaders agreed to form committees to work on locating those who have been displaced and bring them back home. Muhamad al-Ghurair, an Iraqi journalist attended the meeting, said the leaders were frustrated. "They were full of determination and hope, but at the same time they knew they do not have the ability to work independently to achieve what they agreed on. They need a lot of cash and equipment," he said. Senior Iraqi army and police officers attended the meeting and promised to help the leaders to achieve peace.
The leaders agreed to form committees to work on locating those who have been displaced and bring them back home. Muhamad al-Ghurair, an Iraqi journalist attended the meeting, said the leaders were frustrated. "They were full of determination and hope, but at the same time they knew they do not have the ability to work independently to achieve what they agreed on. They need a lot of cash and equipment," he said. Senior Iraqi army and police officers attended the meeting and promised to help the leaders to achieve peace.
COMMENT: Tribal leaders promising to help with the security situation is a subject which keeps cropping up and is of relevance because Iraq is still a tribal society to a certain degree and therefore the sheikhs hold a certain amount of power. Tribal leaders from al-Anbar had pledged in September to outroot militants, however some of these tribes support the insurgents and following that pledge there was a disagreement between the tribal leaders in which some decided to excommunicate and ‘shed the blood’ of those who had pledged to fight Al-Qaeda fighters in Anbar during meetings with PM Nuri Al-Maliki and American military commanders at Baghdad. The tribal leaders threatened were from the large Sunni Dulaim clan. COMMENT ENDS.
