Region | Iraq
Jubilation as Iraqis assume formal control of Baghdad
Iraqi forces assumed formal control of Baghdad and other cities on Tuesday after American troops handed over security in urban areas in a defining step toward ending the US combat role in the country.
- AP
- Published: 10:35 June 30, 2009
- Image Credit: AP
- Iraqi security forces celebrate in Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province, 115 kilometers (70 miles) west of Baghdad.
Baghdad: Iraqi forces assumed formal control of Baghdad and other cities on Tuesday after American troops handed over security in urban areas in a defining step toward ending the US combat role in the country.
A countdown clock broadcast on Iraqi TV ticked to zero as the Monday midnight deadline passed for US combat troops to finish their pullback to bases outside cities.
"The withdrawal of American troops is completed now from all cities after everything they sacrificed for the sake of security," said Sadiq Al Rikabi, a senior adviser to Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki. "We are now celebrating the restoration of sovereignty."
Fireworks, not bombings, coloured the Baghdad skyline late Monday, and thousands attended a party in a park where singers performed patriotic songs. Loudspeakers at police stations and military checkpoints played recordings of similar tunes throughout the day, as Iraqi military vehicles decorated with flowers and national flags patrolled the capital.
"All of us are happy Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds on this day," Waleed al-Bahadili said as he celebrated at the park. "The Americans harmed and insulted us too much."
Al-Maliki declared a public holiday and proclaimed June 30 as "National Sovereignty Day."
Midnight's handover to Iraqi forces filled many citizens with pride but also trepidation that government forces are not ready and that violence will rise. Shiites fear more bombings by Sunni militants" Sunnis fear that the Shiite-dominated Iraqi security forces will give them little protection.
If the Iraqis can hold down violence in the coming months, it will show the country is finally on the road to stability. If they fail, it will pose a challenge to President Barack Obama's pledge to end an unpopular war that has claimed the lives of more than 4,300 US troops and tens of thousands of Iraqis.
The gathering at the Baghdad park was unprecedented in size for such a postwar event in a city where people tend to avoid large gatherings for fear of suicide bombers. They ignored an appeal by Vice President Tariq Al Hashemi to stay away from crowded places during the US pullback, which has seen more than 250 people killed in bombings over the past 10 days.
Security at the party was stifling, as it was throughout much of Baghdad where increased checkpoints dotted the streets and identity checks were methodical. Police using bomb sniffers searched every man, woman and child who attended the party.
The withdrawal, required under a US-Iraqi security pact, marks the first major step toward withdrawing all American forces from the country by December 31, 2011. Obama has said all combat troops will be gone by the end of August 2010.
Despite Tuesday's formal pullback, some US troops will remain in the cities to train and advise Iraqi forces. US troops will return to the cities only if asked. The US military will continue combat operations in rural areas and near the border, but only with the Iraqi government's permission.
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