Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Sunnis targeted by Iraqi security forces
Security
(Daily Telegraph) Iraq's security forces are receiving orders to conduct raids in which minority Sunni Muslims are intimidated and harassed as part of ethnic cleansing in Baghdad, American military commanders have said. High-level politicians issuing orders for Iraqi units to move against sectarian targets amounts to a violation of a key White House condition for sending additional forces to Baghdad.
Military officials expressed concerns that the raids targeted leading Sunni community leaders in the capital's richest suburb Mansour, as well as nearby Amariyah. Mansour is Baghdad's Mayfair. Until recently it was a cosmopolitan mix of the elite and embassies.
President George W Bush set a series of benchmarks for the Iraqi government to meet when he committed 17,500 extra troops to quell violence in Baghdad. One was that the Shia-led administration had to demonstrate it had purged sectarian activities from within the government and security forces. Nouri al-Maliki, the prime minister, agreed that a Joint Command Centre with American and Iraqi would have the sole power to direct operations in Baghdad.
A classified map of the capital seen by The Daily Telegraph shows dramatic gains by Shias in all but a handful of areas. In only a few districts have Sunnis been able to consolidate their dominant position.
Military officials expressed concerns that the raids targeted leading Sunni community leaders in the capital's richest suburb Mansour, as well as nearby Amariyah. Mansour is Baghdad's Mayfair. Until recently it was a cosmopolitan mix of the elite and embassies.
President George W Bush set a series of benchmarks for the Iraqi government to meet when he committed 17,500 extra troops to quell violence in Baghdad. One was that the Shia-led administration had to demonstrate it had purged sectarian activities from within the government and security forces. Nouri al-Maliki, the prime minister, agreed that a Joint Command Centre with American and Iraqi would have the sole power to direct operations in Baghdad.
A classified map of the capital seen by The Daily Telegraph shows dramatic gains by Shias in all but a handful of areas. In only a few districts have Sunnis been able to consolidate their dominant position.
COMMENT: The ethnic mapping of Baghdad has changed radically in the last year. In the past there were many mixed ethnic areas. As sectarian killing and threats increased, many people left mixed areas to move into parts of Baghdad where their ethnic group was the majority. In other cases, they packed their bags and left. The majority of Baghdad is now divided in two, with Shias occupying the majority of Risafa - the side on the east of the Tigris and Sunnis in Karkh on the west of the river. However it is worth bearing in mind that Iraq's population is made up of 63% Shias and 34% Sunnis, resulting in Shias taking the most space. COMMENT ENDS.
Labels: ethnic cleansing, security forces
