Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Anbar Tribal Sheikhs Will Announce Political Front; Abu Risha Contacts Insurgent Groups To Strengthen His Power
Politics
(Mashriq Newspaper) - 9 OCT - Anbar’s tribal sheikhs are ready to announce a political front. Meanwhile, a leader from an insurgent group has confirmed that Ahmed Abu Risha has contacted insurgent groups to support his power. Sheikh Ali Al Hatim, Anbar’s Tribal Council Chief, said that he will meet with the Anbar Awakening Council Chief, Ahmed Abu Risha and Sheikh Hamid Al Hayis, who was ousted from the council during Sheikh Abd Al Sattar Abu Risha’s regime. The goal of this meeting is to form a political front that has one opinion which all can agree on. Al Hatim said, “We will not allow anyone to make any decision alone or to say he represents the council which is led by Abu Risha.”
Some people close to Abu Risha have said that relations between Abu Risha and Al Hayis are bad because Al Hayis met with the Iraqi government in Baghdad, but Al Hatim said, “The relations between Al Hayis and Abu Risha are good and there is no disagreement between them.” Al Hatim added, “We do not accept Al Hayis to represent our positions in his meetings with the government or with other sides.” He confirmed, “We have our opinion about the meeting between Jalal Al Din Saghier and Al Hayis.” Al Hatim continued, “We do not have problems with SICI, but everyone knows that the relationships between the Sunni and Shiite sides are tense. Meetings such as these will increase the tension between these groups. The reports that claim Sheikh Al Hayis and I are working against Sheikh Ahmed Abu Risha are incorrect. There is no tension between Abu Risha and Al Hayis.”
Al Hayis met with Sheikh Jalal Al Din Al Saghier, the Shiite Alliance and SICI member to discuss the problem of Anbar. During this meeting Al Hayis said, “Sheikh Abd Al Sattar Abu Risha played a large role in improving the opinion of Sunnis in Iraq.”
An anonymous leader from an insurgent group in Anbar said, “Al Hayis is not working for Anbar’s interest.” He confirmed, “Sheikh Ahmed Abu Risha is a good politician, but sometimes he flatters people. Some Sunni politicians are trying to take credit for our achievements.” He added, “We demand that Sheikh Ahmed Abu Risha follow the style of his brother Sheikh Abd Al Sattar Abu Risha.” He added “Al Hayis has visited Iran many times; therefore he must want to support any Iranian project in Iraq. Abu Risha has contacted the resistance leaders and that is important to us.”
In related news, Sunni Accord Front, Omar Abd Al Sattar said, “The Accord Front, Awakening Council, and the Tribal Council are working together with the Abu Risha family to serve Anbar Province.”
Some people close to Abu Risha have said that relations between Abu Risha and Al Hayis are bad because Al Hayis met with the Iraqi government in Baghdad, but Al Hatim said, “The relations between Al Hayis and Abu Risha are good and there is no disagreement between them.” Al Hatim added, “We do not accept Al Hayis to represent our positions in his meetings with the government or with other sides.” He confirmed, “We have our opinion about the meeting between Jalal Al Din Saghier and Al Hayis.” Al Hatim continued, “We do not have problems with SICI, but everyone knows that the relationships between the Sunni and Shiite sides are tense. Meetings such as these will increase the tension between these groups. The reports that claim Sheikh Al Hayis and I are working against Sheikh Ahmed Abu Risha are incorrect. There is no tension between Abu Risha and Al Hayis.”
Al Hayis met with Sheikh Jalal Al Din Al Saghier, the Shiite Alliance and SICI member to discuss the problem of Anbar. During this meeting Al Hayis said, “Sheikh Abd Al Sattar Abu Risha played a large role in improving the opinion of Sunnis in Iraq.”
An anonymous leader from an insurgent group in Anbar said, “Al Hayis is not working for Anbar’s interest.” He confirmed, “Sheikh Ahmed Abu Risha is a good politician, but sometimes he flatters people. Some Sunni politicians are trying to take credit for our achievements.” He added, “We demand that Sheikh Ahmed Abu Risha follow the style of his brother Sheikh Abd Al Sattar Abu Risha.” He added “Al Hayis has visited Iran many times; therefore he must want to support any Iranian project in Iraq. Abu Risha has contacted the resistance leaders and that is important to us.”
In related news, Sunni Accord Front, Omar Abd Al Sattar said, “The Accord Front, Awakening Council, and the Tribal Council are working together with the Abu Risha family to serve Anbar Province.”
Labels: Anbar Salvation Council, Anbar Tribal Council, insurgent groups, Sheikh Ahmed Abu Risha, Sheikh Ali Al Hatim, Sheikh Hamid Al Hayis, Sheikh Jalal Al Din Al Saghier, SICI
Friday, September 14, 2007
Anbar tribes vow to avenge killing of Abu Risha as new leader elected
Security
(Al Jazeera) - Sunni Arab tribes in Anbar, the western Iraqi province, have vowed to avenge the killing of Abdul Sattar Abu Risha, their leader. He died in a roadside-bomb attack near his home in Ramadi, the provincial capital, on Thursday. Abdul Sattar Abu Risha was leader of the Anbar Salvation Council, an alliance of clans that supported the Iraqi government and US forces in fighting al-Qaeda in the province. Thousands of people gathered in Ramadi to attend Friday's funeral.
"We blame al-Qaeda and we are going to continue our fight and avenge his death," Sheikh Ahmed Abu Risha, brother of Abdul Sattar Abu Risha, said on Friday. Ahmed Abu Risha was elected the new leader of the Anbar Salvation Conference just hours after his brother's killing. Pallbearers carried Abdul Sattar Abu Risha's body from Ramadi to the cemetery 10km outside the city, while the funeral procession shouted "revenge, revenge on al-Qaeda." Others mourners chanted "there is no God but Allah and al-Qaeda is the enemy of Allah" and "Abdul Sattar is the pride of Ramadi".
Nuri al-Maliki, the Iraqi prime minister, was represented by Muwaffaq al-Rubaie, his national security adviser, who condemned the killing. "It is a national Iraqi disaster. What Abu Risha did for Iraq, no single man has done in the country's history," al-Rubaie told the mourners gathered in the sheikh's house. "We will support Anbar much more than before. Abu Risha is a national hero."
"This is a man who has had a controversial past, but in recent months he has become a very prominent figure, even meeting George Bush [the US president]," Al Jazeera's James Bays said. Abdul Sattar Abu Risha had urged the tribal leaders in other Iraqi provinces to follow Anbar's lead in co-operating with the central government against al-Qaeda
"He was returning home when his convoy was hit by a roadside bomb planted by insurgents," Colonel Tareq al-Dulaimi, Anbar security chief, said. "His car was hit directly." No group immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing. Sheikh Jubeir Rashid, a senior member of Abdul Sattar Abu Risha's group, told the Associated Press: "It is a major blow to the council, but we are determined to strike back and continue our work. "Such an attack was expected, but it will not deter us." Two of Abdul Sattar Abu Risha's bodyguards were also killed by the roadside bomb, Colonel Tareq Youssef, supervisor of Anbar police, said. Police announced a state of emergency in Ramadi after the bombing and set up additional checkpoints throughout the city, Rashid said. Anbar success
General David Petraeus, the senior US commander in Iraq, repeatedly pointed to successes in tackling a-Qaeda in Anbar during his testimony before the US congress. Omar Abdul Sattar from the Islamic Party of Iraq told Al Jazeera that Abdul Sattar Abu Rishar had become a national symbol of the "national war against al-Qaeda". "His programme now against al-Qaeda has become a national programme. Diyala province, Salahuddin province, Baghdad province are following now his programme," he said. The White House condemned Abdul Sattar Abu Risha's "assassination".
"His death also reminds us that the struggle will require continued perseverance, and the Iraqis are increasingly turning away from al-Qaeda, as a result of such extreme acts of violence," Kate Starr, White House national security council spokeswoman, said. Bush mentioned the killing in a speech on Thursday in which he announced that he may pull some 30,000 US troops out of Iraq by mid-2008 effectively ending the so-called surge.
Hoda Abdel Hamid, Al Jazeera's Iraq correspondent, said Abdul Sattar Abu Risha's death could derail some of the US successes. "Anbar province was really the capital of al-Qaeda in Iraq ... he managed to convince the tribes to give up their young people to make up the police and armed forces in the province," she said. Within hours of Abdul Sattar Abu Risha's death, some Islamist websites posted messages praising his killing, the Associated Press news agency reported. One called him "one of the biggest pigs of the Crusaders", while another said he would spend Ramadan "in the pits of hell".
"We blame al-Qaeda and we are going to continue our fight and avenge his death," Sheikh Ahmed Abu Risha, brother of Abdul Sattar Abu Risha, said on Friday. Ahmed Abu Risha was elected the new leader of the Anbar Salvation Conference just hours after his brother's killing. Pallbearers carried Abdul Sattar Abu Risha's body from Ramadi to the cemetery 10km outside the city, while the funeral procession shouted "revenge, revenge on al-Qaeda." Others mourners chanted "there is no God but Allah and al-Qaeda is the enemy of Allah" and "Abdul Sattar is the pride of Ramadi".
Nuri al-Maliki, the Iraqi prime minister, was represented by Muwaffaq al-Rubaie, his national security adviser, who condemned the killing. "It is a national Iraqi disaster. What Abu Risha did for Iraq, no single man has done in the country's history," al-Rubaie told the mourners gathered in the sheikh's house. "We will support Anbar much more than before. Abu Risha is a national hero."
"This is a man who has had a controversial past, but in recent months he has become a very prominent figure, even meeting George Bush [the US president]," Al Jazeera's James Bays said. Abdul Sattar Abu Risha had urged the tribal leaders in other Iraqi provinces to follow Anbar's lead in co-operating with the central government against al-Qaeda
"He was returning home when his convoy was hit by a roadside bomb planted by insurgents," Colonel Tareq al-Dulaimi, Anbar security chief, said. "His car was hit directly." No group immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing. Sheikh Jubeir Rashid, a senior member of Abdul Sattar Abu Risha's group, told the Associated Press: "It is a major blow to the council, but we are determined to strike back and continue our work. "Such an attack was expected, but it will not deter us." Two of Abdul Sattar Abu Risha's bodyguards were also killed by the roadside bomb, Colonel Tareq Youssef, supervisor of Anbar police, said. Police announced a state of emergency in Ramadi after the bombing and set up additional checkpoints throughout the city, Rashid said. Anbar success
General David Petraeus, the senior US commander in Iraq, repeatedly pointed to successes in tackling a-Qaeda in Anbar during his testimony before the US congress. Omar Abdul Sattar from the Islamic Party of Iraq told Al Jazeera that Abdul Sattar Abu Rishar had become a national symbol of the "national war against al-Qaeda". "His programme now against al-Qaeda has become a national programme. Diyala province, Salahuddin province, Baghdad province are following now his programme," he said. The White House condemned Abdul Sattar Abu Risha's "assassination".
"His death also reminds us that the struggle will require continued perseverance, and the Iraqis are increasingly turning away from al-Qaeda, as a result of such extreme acts of violence," Kate Starr, White House national security council spokeswoman, said. Bush mentioned the killing in a speech on Thursday in which he announced that he may pull some 30,000 US troops out of Iraq by mid-2008 effectively ending the so-called surge.
Hoda Abdel Hamid, Al Jazeera's Iraq correspondent, said Abdul Sattar Abu Risha's death could derail some of the US successes. "Anbar province was really the capital of al-Qaeda in Iraq ... he managed to convince the tribes to give up their young people to make up the police and armed forces in the province," she said. Within hours of Abdul Sattar Abu Risha's death, some Islamist websites posted messages praising his killing, the Associated Press news agency reported. One called him "one of the biggest pigs of the Crusaders", while another said he would spend Ramadan "in the pits of hell".
Labels: Al Anbar, Al Qaeda, Anbar Salvation Council, assassination, Ramadi, Sheikh Abdul Sattar Abu Risha, Sheikh Ahmed Abu Risha
