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Sunni Awakening members in Iraq may flee to US for safety

Some Sunni Awakening members may emigrate to the US, Hussain Al Joubri, leader of the Awakening Council in the district of Hawija in the Sunni Salahuddin province, told Gulf News.

  • By Basil Adas, Correspondent
  • Published: 22:45 September 8, 2008
  • Gulf News

Baghdad: Some Sunni Awakening members may emigrate to the US, Hussain Al Joubri, leader of the Awakening Council in the district of Hawija in the Sunni Salahuddin province, told Gulf News.

He added that senior leaders were not seeking to emigrate because they "do not fear the Islamic state", in reference to Iran.

The US has seriously considered granting large numbers of Sunni Awakening forces entry to the US as a reward for their role in their fight against Al Qaida, Iraqi military sources said.

"No Iraqi law prevents Awakening members from moving to live in the US," Major General Abdul Karim Khalaf, operational manager of the Iraqi Interior Ministry, said.

Fear for families

He added that the safety of the Awakening forces and their families falls under the jurisdiction of the Iraqi security forces.

Awakening members feel vulnerable after the Iraqi government ordered them to disarm. Many worry they will be the target of revenge attacks by Al Qaida.

"Al Qaida has formed special secret cells to assassinate the Sunni Awakening forces and their leaders," Bassam Al Dulaimi, one of the local leaders of the Awakening in Al Ameriya neighbourhood in Baghdad told Gulf News.

After being disarmed by the Iraqi forces, Al Dulaimi is opting to emigrate to the US for the safety of his family.

However, some politicians in Baghdad consider the emigration of Awakening members to the US as a plot by Al Maliki's regime to get rid of the Awakening, Osama Azzawi, a member of the Sunni Islamic Party, said.

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