Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Conference Held For Basrah’s Political Powers
Politics
(Al Mashriq Newspaper) - 10 SEP - Yesterday, Basrah’s Sadr Office held a conference which was attended by political and religious powers. The attendees included: Representatives of the “National Movement” (a small political front) which consists of eight democratic parties, and Saabists, (a minority religious group). Fadhila Party did not attend this conference; because, Fadhila Party has “deep disputes” with the Sadr Office.
Sheikh Abd Al Razaq Al Nadawi, the Manager of the Sadr Office in Basrah called for the issuing of a “fatwa” which forbids Iraqi bloodshed. And (Sheikh Al Nadawi), also called for the Chiefs (Sheikhs) of all the Tribes to: stop disputes, and work to achieve “unified speech and positions” (common ground). Then, Al Nadawi asked the Civil Community Organizations to: activate dialogue and National Reconciliation…and adopt “national attitudes” to deal with all opinions.
[It is worthy to note that] This Conference was held after the huge celebrations…which began on Friday… after the British forces signed the decision to withdraw their troops from (Basrah’s) Presidential Palaces. The celebration (marches, parades, and convoys of cars loaded with rejoicing people) ended in Basrah’s Al Hussein area…which is the (area of Basrah with) the most Mahdi Army “bases.”
Al Nadawi (the Manager of the Sadr Office in Basrah) also warned American troops not to enter Basrah; he said, “The Occupation forces are not included in the truce! ‘Freezing’ Mahdi Army activities do not include ‘freezing’ its actions against American troops!" According to many observers, the Sadr Office in Basrah held this conference… called the “Security and Stabilization Conference”… in order to:
Calm the local and national government, and
Decrease local residents’ fears that the Mahdi Army will take control of (all) of Basrah’s security and community services…after the British withdraw from Basrah’s Presidential Palaces.
Basrah’s “Operations Commander” – General Mohan Hafidh said, during the conference, that the (Iraqi) Security Forces have the ability to maintain security (keep the peace)…if the people, parties, and social sects cooperate with the security forces. He also said that the mission of his forces is to: pressure criminals and outlaws to abandon their own (selfish) loyalties. He also said: the (Iraqi) aircraft will soon arrive…within two weeks from now.
Sheikh Abd Al Razaq Al Nadawi, the Manager of the Sadr Office in Basrah called for the issuing of a “fatwa” which forbids Iraqi bloodshed. And (Sheikh Al Nadawi), also called for the Chiefs (Sheikhs) of all the Tribes to: stop disputes, and work to achieve “unified speech and positions” (common ground). Then, Al Nadawi asked the Civil Community Organizations to: activate dialogue and National Reconciliation…and adopt “national attitudes” to deal with all opinions.
[It is worthy to note that] This Conference was held after the huge celebrations…which began on Friday… after the British forces signed the decision to withdraw their troops from (Basrah’s) Presidential Palaces. The celebration (marches, parades, and convoys of cars loaded with rejoicing people) ended in Basrah’s Al Hussein area…which is the (area of Basrah with) the most Mahdi Army “bases.”
Al Nadawi (the Manager of the Sadr Office in Basrah) also warned American troops not to enter Basrah; he said, “The Occupation forces are not included in the truce! ‘Freezing’ Mahdi Army activities do not include ‘freezing’ its actions against American troops!" According to many observers, the Sadr Office in Basrah held this conference… called the “Security and Stabilization Conference”… in order to:
Calm the local and national government, and
Decrease local residents’ fears that the Mahdi Army will take control of (all) of Basrah’s security and community services…after the British withdraw from Basrah’s Presidential Palaces.
Basrah’s “Operations Commander” – General Mohan Hafidh said, during the conference, that the (Iraqi) Security Forces have the ability to maintain security (keep the peace)…if the people, parties, and social sects cooperate with the security forces. He also said that the mission of his forces is to: pressure criminals and outlaws to abandon their own (selfish) loyalties. He also said: the (Iraqi) aircraft will soon arrive…within two weeks from now.
Labels: Basrah, Fadhela party, fatwas, General Mohan Hafidh, National Movement, Saabists, Sadr office, Sheikh Abd Al Razaq Al Nadawi, tribes
Friday, September 07, 2007
Tribes sabotage Kirkuk pipelines
Oil, Tribal
(IWPR) - Despite the presence of special oil ministry units, pipelines around Kirkuk are destroyed and hundreds of tons of oil stolen every day by tribe members from surrounding villages, such as al-Milih, Wadi Zghetun, al-Muradiyya, al-Saduniyya, al-Kanaina and al-Safra. The "oil protection units" were deployed to guard the pipelines after the government cancelled previous failed agreements with tribal forces to protect them. But in spite of this, oil is stolen from pipelines stretching from the al-Riyadh sub-district, 55 km west of Kirkuk, to the al-Fatha area 90 km to the west.
Tribal sheikhs who profit from the stolen oil are likely to obstruct new measures planned by local authorities, including a special protection force, to stop the sabotage of the pipelines. Locals employed to protect the pipes are often from the same groups as those who are stealing the oil. In the first few years after the fall of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein's government, Sunni insurgents - many of whom as former soldiers had guarded oil routes under the old regime - blew up the pipelines to wreak havoc.
Since then, insurgents have realized that stealing oil is also damaging, and is far more profitable than pure destruction. Today, Kirkuk's oil wealth is evaporating. Qais al-Mifraji, a 34-year-old farmer in the village of al-Safra, 63 km west of Kirkuk, describes how the pipelines are destroyed. "The insurgents usually come at night and plant a bomb to detonate the export pipeline," he said. "But if they want to steal, they just break it and fill their tankers. No one can stop them."
The riddled pipes partially explain why four years after the US invasion, Iraq has not been able to match its pre-war crude production level of 2.5 million barrels a day. In 2006, production averaged 2.1 million barrels per day, mostly from oil fields near Basra in the south, which have not suffered the non-stop sabotage taking place in the north. Kirkuk now produces just 180,000 barrels a day. It could produce at least 400,000 more a day which, at current market prices, would net Iraq seven billion US dollars in revenue per year.
Over the second half of last year, one stretch of pipeline connecting Kirkuk with the Turkish Mediterranean port of Ceyhan - the main outlet for Iraq's northern oil exports - pumped oil for only 43 days. The rest of the time, the pipeline lay idle, leaking crude through dozens of holes drilled along its 320-km run through the Iraqi desert. Another pipeline has been tapped into 39 times so far this year, according to the state-owned Northern Oil Company, NOC, which operates the Kirkuk field.
Qadir Omer Rahman, director of the oil products distribution department in Kirkuk, said that the 80km-long pipeline from Kirkuk to the refinery in Bayji suffered many attacks."Those who protect and guard the oil pipelines are recruited from the people of the villages through which the pipelines pass," he said. "They are the ones committing these acts of terror and smuggling, with the help of other groups." Unemployment and poor living conditions spurred Ayad Hamid al-Ubaidi from Hawdh village, who is in his thirties, to join the gangs who target pipelines and steal oil. "There is no one who can give us our rights," he said. "We have to use our own hands to obtain our rights."
Rahman estimated that three million liters of oil are lost every month because of sabotage, which he said severely affects the provision of petroleum products to Kirkuk and the Kurdistan region's three northern governorates. Each stage of oil production in the north is hampered by criminal activity. It is not only the oil and its products which are stolen by outsiders. Pumps, transformers, generators and other valuable machinery and spare parts are frequently looted.
Oil company workers are coming increasingly under fire from militias. Pipeline repair crews have been shot at and hit by roadside bombs. Sunni insurgents have been dropping leaflets in Kirkuk warning all government employees, including oil company workers, to quit or to face death. Last summer, Adi al-Qazaz, then NOC's director-general, went to Baghdad to visit the oil ministry. After his meeting, he was kidnapped by gunmen on the street, never to be seen again. While some NOC employees are threatened, others are suspected of cooperating in stealing both crude and refined oil.
Truck drivers, as well as managers of fuel stations, are taking their share of the illegal business, draining supplies for Iraqi citizens who struggle to find cooking oil and fuel. A source in the NOC, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that there is a mafia-like group operating inside the company which smuggles large amounts of oil through pipelines, in cooperation with individuals inside the company. "When an explosion occurs in a pipeline and oil leaks from it, the people in charge neglect it, leaving the leak for several days until a large amount of oil has been taken from it," he said.
Much of the smuggled crude oil is sold to merchants in Erbil through local brokers. They meet to do their deals in a restaurant in the sub-district of al-Gwer, 40 km west of Erbil, according to Ahmed al-Jobouri, an oil tanker driver. At small domestic refineries, the crude is transformed into refined fuel and then sold on the black market. Some will then be smuggled across the border. According to the NOC source, "the revenue from oil smuggled into Turkey is used to support the Turkoman Front in Iraq, and revenue from oil smuggled to Syria is used to support the insurgent groups in Iraq".
Fuel is heavily subsidized in Iraq. Petrol stations receive limited supplies and citizens are given vouchers entitling them to buy a certain amount each week at the official low price. But because there is not enough subsidized fuel, most Iraqis end up buying oil products on the black market. A source in the Bayji refinery near Kirkuk, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told IWPR reporters that some officials from the General Company for Oil Products, which is in charge of issuing paperwork for the subsidies, sells authentic as well as false receipts to merchants.The stolen fuel is then smuggled and sold on the black market, either inside Iraq or across the border in Syria or Turkey.
There is also small-scale smuggling. Salah Ali, who has been working as a tanker driver for six months, said receipts are issued at the Bayji refinery for 36,000 liters per tanker, which is their official load. But they are then filled to their full capacity of 40,000 litres, and the additional 4,000 liters are sold on the black market for five times the price of regular fuel. Similar activities go on at the smaller refinery in Kirkuk, said Irfan Kirkukli, the deputy chief of security on the city council. "Several trucks carrying oil products smuggled from Kirkuk have been seized," he said. "Vehicles have been caught smuggling 160 canisters of cooking gas from Kirkuk to Erbil, for example."
Some petrol station owners, he said, sell their share of state-subsidized fuel to black market dealers. "Many such cases have occurred in Kirkuk and legal action was taken against [the culprits]," he said. "The filling stations weren't given [further] allotments and their owners were fined. "To protect the pipelines and prevent illegal smuggling of fuel, several measures are to be implemented. Kirkukli said a special protection force to guard the pipelines will be formed, consisting of members of the Iraqi army, oil protection forces and the tribes from the areas where the pipelines pass through.Officials in charge of particular pipeline sectors will have to pay fines if their stretches are damaged or oil is stolen. Kirkukli also said that funds have been allocated to support oil infrastructure and to build observation towers along the pipelines in western and southern Kirkuk.
Sami Amin Othman, the Kurdish chief of the oil protection force in Kirkuk, has recently hired 290 new security guards whom he plans to deploy along the pipelines. This, however, has already created unrest among the local Sunni Arab chiefs in the area. They seem to be afraid of losing power because the new guards will be paid directly by the government and not contracted through them. Because the people hired to protect the pipelines are often from the same groups that sabotage the pipes, and tribal bonds are often stronger than national loyalty, the illegal drilling is expected to continue. Sheikh Ziyad Hasan, who formerly served as a contractor protecting the pipelines, confirms that people from the area sabotage the pipelines and profit from the oil. Many locals, he said, lack the motivation to prevent thefts. "They believe that this oil serves the Americans and the new government, and that it does not benefit the people," he said.
Labels: Erbil, insurgents, Kirkuk, Northern Oil Company, oil, oil pipelines, sabotage, Sami Amin Othman, tribal leaders, tribes, Turkoman Front
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Religious Authority Upset Because Americans Are Arming Baathist Tribes
Security, Politics
(Al Bayyna Newspaper) - 19 JUN - A number of Iraqi clerics and politicians have criticized the weak security procedures in Samarra before the disaster which occurred last Wednesday. They are also critical of the new American strategy to arm tribes which are mostly Baathist. In a press statement, politicians and clerics confirmed, “There is something wrong in the government’s monitoring of many different issues, especially “procedures” of the American Army in a number of provinces which includes arming some Sunni tribes that have a Baathist history while Americans are calling to destroy the militias.”
Political observers have said, “Blowing up the Samarra shrines is a terrorist crime and it is simultaneous with critical reports from European sources in Brussels who state that Saudi Arabia has succeeded in convincing the American administration to initiate a project for the Sunni Baathists to rule Iraq. The European sources described this critical political / military project as a dual project to arm the Sunni Baathist militias with weapons and ammunition in order to prepare them to take control of cities and neighborhoods one at a time. This will occur while the US forces and the MNF attack the “Shiite volunteer committees” [militias] in order to allow the minority to rule Iraq, or at least to help Baathists occupy all of Baghdad and remove the Shiites from Baghdad.
Labels: Baathists, Samarra, tribes
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Al-Maliki calls for tribes to help fight Al-Qaeda
Politics
(AP) - Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki warned Tuesday that Iraq's fight against terror will be "open-ended and long" and called for the creation of "salvation councils" across the country to bring together Iraqis to fight al-Qaida militants. In a televised address marking the first anniversary of his Shiite-dominated government, al-Maliki also warned unnamed foreign parties that they would pay a "high price" of their own security for meddling in Iraq.
"I call on the faithful and patriotic clans and civil society organizations to set up national salvation councils in all of Iraq's provinces and stand by the armed forces in the fight against terrorism which is targeting Iraq's territory, people and heritage," said the Shiite prime minister. His call appeared to be for the creation of councils modeled after an alliance of Sunni Arab clans which banded together in the western Anbar province to drive al-Qaida in Iraq militants from their areas. The tactic seems to have worked, with Ramadi, the provincial capital, no longer under extremist control.
Steps are under way to copy the Anbar formula in Diyala province northeast of Baghdad where al-Qaida is known to be active. Attacks against U.S. and Iraqi troops as well as Shiite civilians have been increasing there.
He also warned Iraqi groups, which again he did not name, against forging alliances with foreign powers, saying that doing so would turn Iraq into a battlefield for regional and international powers to settle their scores.
Al-Maliki, however, warned that he would not allow his efforts to achieve national reconciliation to be hijacked by those who want to turn it into "a bridge for the return of murderers and criminals ... the new Iraq has no place for the Baath Party whose history is full of coups, conspiracies, crime and genocide."
In a thinly veiled reference to Sunni Arab politicians critical of the U.S.-Iraqi security push in Baghdad, now in its fourth month, the prime minister asked the judiciary to start legal proceedings against those whom he said were seeking to undermine the reputation of the armed forces. They should be charged with inciting hatred and sectarian divisions as well as condoning terrorism, he said.
"I call on the faithful and patriotic clans and civil society organizations to set up national salvation councils in all of Iraq's provinces and stand by the armed forces in the fight against terrorism which is targeting Iraq's territory, people and heritage," said the Shiite prime minister. His call appeared to be for the creation of councils modeled after an alliance of Sunni Arab clans which banded together in the western Anbar province to drive al-Qaida in Iraq militants from their areas. The tactic seems to have worked, with Ramadi, the provincial capital, no longer under extremist control.
Steps are under way to copy the Anbar formula in Diyala province northeast of Baghdad where al-Qaida is known to be active. Attacks against U.S. and Iraqi troops as well as Shiite civilians have been increasing there.
He also warned Iraqi groups, which again he did not name, against forging alliances with foreign powers, saying that doing so would turn Iraq into a battlefield for regional and international powers to settle their scores.
Al-Maliki, however, warned that he would not allow his efforts to achieve national reconciliation to be hijacked by those who want to turn it into "a bridge for the return of murderers and criminals ... the new Iraq has no place for the Baath Party whose history is full of coups, conspiracies, crime and genocide."
In a thinly veiled reference to Sunni Arab politicians critical of the U.S.-Iraqi security push in Baghdad, now in its fourth month, the prime minister asked the judiciary to start legal proceedings against those whom he said were seeking to undermine the reputation of the armed forces. They should be charged with inciting hatred and sectarian divisions as well as condoning terrorism, he said.
Labels: national salvation council, Nouri Al-Maliki, tribes
Friday, March 23, 2007
Islamic State of Iraq denies Fallujah chlorine bombs, threatens tribes
Insurgency, Tribal
(SITE) The Islamic State of Iraq issued a statement on March 22, 2007, denying responsibility for targeting “the general people with poison gas” and claiming military operations against an Iraqi police station in Amiriyat al-Fallujah, Anbar province, on March 20. In what is likely a reference to the detonation of three chlorine-filled trucks in Anbar province March 16, the group calls accusations of their involvement in the attack part of an information campaign aimed at tarnishing the jihad of the Islamic State, and more broadly, the image of the “blessed global jihad.” The group asks how any “sane” person can believe that the Islamic State is targeting its own people as so many move to join their military ranks.
The statement also details the raid of an Iraqi police station in Amiriyat al-Fallujah on March 20, in which “no less than 35” policemen were killed. The group claims to be coordinating operations with the “al-Bu Eisa al-Asila” tribe. Though the tribe is praised for offering their best young men to “the fields of jihad” since the beginning of the occupation, it is noted that some have joined government forces in opposing the Islamic State. One member of the tribe, the late Commander Abu al-Harith al-Eisawi, is honored in the statement; his role as a “lion” in the second battle of Fallujah is noted. The statement reminds “defectors,” namely the “al-Anbar savior council,” a coalition of tribes opposing the Islamic State in Anbar province, that their fate will be the same as the “betrayers” at Amiriyat al-Fallujah.
The statement also details the raid of an Iraqi police station in Amiriyat al-Fallujah on March 20, in which “no less than 35” policemen were killed. The group claims to be coordinating operations with the “al-Bu Eisa al-Asila” tribe. Though the tribe is praised for offering their best young men to “the fields of jihad” since the beginning of the occupation, it is noted that some have joined government forces in opposing the Islamic State. One member of the tribe, the late Commander Abu al-Harith al-Eisawi, is honored in the statement; his role as a “lion” in the second battle of Fallujah is noted. The statement reminds “defectors,” namely the “al-Anbar savior council,” a coalition of tribes opposing the Islamic State in Anbar province, that their fate will be the same as the “betrayers” at Amiriyat al-Fallujah.
Labels: al-Anbar savior council, al-Bu Eisa al-Asila, Albu Issa tribe, chlorine bombs, Fallujah, Islamic State of Iraq, tribes
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Security forces expect more chemical bomb attacks
Security, Insurgency
(AFP) - Insurgents in Iraq killed seven more US troops as security forces on Sunday said they expected more chemical bomb attacks after three dirty bombs left two policemen dead and 350 civilians sick. Iraq government spokesman Ali Al Dabbagh claimed on Sunday that Friday’s chlorine attacks in the restive Anbar province west of Baghdad were sparked by the fact that public opinion is turning against militant groups.
Insurgents detonated three trucks filled with toxic chlorine gas, putting at least 350 Iraqi civilians in hospital and killing two policemen, the US military reported, adding that six American soldiers also fell sick. Two of the attacks came just south of the town of Fallujah and one was northeast of the nearby city of Ramadi, both hotbeds of Al Qaeda militants in Anbar province. 'This is the doing of terrorist organisations in Ramadi and Fallujah,’ Dabbagh told a news conference in Baghdad on Sunday. ‘Public opinion in Ramadi is going against these groups, and so they threaten the people of Anbar. We were expecting such chlorine attacks. It is not easy to stop them.’
Iraqi interior ministry operations director Brigadier General Abdel Karim Khalaf had on Saturday suggested the bombings may have been launched in revenge for recent government successes against insurgents in Ramadi. Sunni tribes from Anbar have united in a coalition to oppose Al Qaeda in Iraq, sending thousands of young men to join the government security forces and cooperating with US and Iraqi commanders.
Insurgents continue to carry out assaults in Baghdad despite the presence of 90,000 US and Iraqi troops on the streets as part of Operation Fardh Al Qanoon (Imposing Law), which was launched on February 14 in a bid to quell sectarian violence. US military spokesman Rear Admiral Mark Fox acknowledged at the joint news conference with Dabbagh that as general violence in the capital has been reduced, the number of car bombings has risen. ‘We are taking down the networks that produce these car bombs; we are taking down car bomb factories,’ he added.Insurgents detonated three trucks filled with toxic chlorine gas, putting at least 350 Iraqi civilians in hospital and killing two policemen, the US military reported, adding that six American soldiers also fell sick. Two of the attacks came just south of the town of Fallujah and one was northeast of the nearby city of Ramadi, both hotbeds of Al Qaeda militants in Anbar province. 'This is the doing of terrorist organisations in Ramadi and Fallujah,’ Dabbagh told a news conference in Baghdad on Sunday. ‘Public opinion in Ramadi is going against these groups, and so they threaten the people of Anbar. We were expecting such chlorine attacks. It is not easy to stop them.’
Iraqi interior ministry operations director Brigadier General Abdel Karim Khalaf had on Saturday suggested the bombings may have been launched in revenge for recent government successes against insurgents in Ramadi. Sunni tribes from Anbar have united in a coalition to oppose Al Qaeda in Iraq, sending thousands of young men to join the government security forces and cooperating with US and Iraqi commanders.
Labels: Al Anbar, Ali Al Dabbagh, Brigadier General Abdel Karim Khalaf, chlorine bombs, tribes
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Civilian deaths decraese in Baghdad as attacks increase in other areas
Security
(Reuters) Civilian deaths and car bombs have fallen sharply in Baghdad since a U.S.-backed crackdown began a month ago, but attacks outside the capital were rising as militants change tactics, Iraqi officials said on Wednesday. In an upbeat assessment of the first 30 days of the security plan, Iraqi military spokesman Brigadier Qassim Moussawi said the number of Iraqis killed by violence in Baghdad since February 14 was 265, down from 1,440 killed in the previous month.
The number of car bombings, a favorite weapon used by suspected Sunni Arab militants fighting the Shi'ite-led government, was down to 36 from 56, Moussawi told reporters. But as thousands of U.S. and Iraqi troops flow into the capital, attacks in the area surrounding Baghdad have increased, he said, without providing specific figures.
The number of car bombings, a favorite weapon used by suspected Sunni Arab militants fighting the Shi'ite-led government, was down to 36 from 56, Moussawi told reporters. But as thousands of U.S. and Iraqi troops flow into the capital, attacks in the area surrounding Baghdad have increased, he said, without providing specific figures.
There are about 100,000 Iraqi and U.S. forces deployed in Baghdad under a plan to sweep neighborhoods and rid streets of Sunni Arab militants and Shi'ite militias. The U.S. military says the Mehdi Army Shi'ite militia is the greatest threat to security in Iraq and has conducted sweeps in the Shi'ite militia stronghold of Sadr City. So far Shi'ite militias have been lying low and many of their leading figures are believed to have fled the capital, a development that has coincided with a decline in execution-style killings.
But violence has been on the rise elsewhere, including in western Anbar province, a Sunni militant stronghold where al Qaeda and local tribes are engaged in a power struggle, and in Diyala, a religiously mixed area northeast of the capital.
But violence has been on the rise elsewhere, including in western Anbar province, a Sunni militant stronghold where al Qaeda and local tribes are engaged in a power struggle, and in Diyala, a religiously mixed area northeast of the capital.
Labels: Al Anbar, Al Qaeda in Iraq, Baghdad, Brigadier Qassim Moussawi, civilian deaths, Diyala, Mahdi Army, tribes
