Region | Iraq
Unofficial forces hold key to Iraq future
Sunni Arab neighbourhood patrols have been vital to cutting violence in Iraq. However, depending upon how the Shiite-led government handles their future, they could help foster sectarian reconciliation or start a new round of bloodshed.
- Agencies
- Published: 00:30 September 12, 2008
- A member of the Iraqi National Police leads his squad as they patrol a road in the village of Harbatiliyah, near Baghdad, on Thursday. The government is highlighting significant improvements in the performance of its forces as it pushes for a timeframe for American withdrawal.
- Image Credit: AP
Baghdad: Sunni Arab neighbourhood patrols have been vital to cutting violence in Iraq. However, depending upon how the Shiite-led government handles their future, they could help foster sectarian reconciliation or start a new round of bloodshed.
The US military will begin handing over control of the units to the government from October 1, when Baghdad will pay 54,000 guards operating in and around the Iraqi capital.
However, some government officials eye the unofficial forces - which include many former Sunni Arab insurgents and a total of around 100,000 men across the country - with suspicion.
The government has set limits on how many of them can be incorporated into the security forces.
Called Awakening Councils or Sahwas in Arabic, the units began turning against Sunni Al Qaida in late 2006. Paid by the US military, they patrol neighbourhoods and man checkpoints.
The government has promised to incorporate 20 per cent of the units into the security forces and give the rest civilian jobs or training. But that is not good enough, some Sunni leaders say.
"Sahwas sacrificed their lives to impose security and expel armed groups and they succeeded. If this is not respected, no one knows what will happen," said Aws Mohammad, an Awakening group leader in Baghdad's Adhamiya district.
Senior Sunni lawmaker Salim Al Jubouri asked why the government had imposed a percentage. "Anyone who is capable should be allowed to join the security forces," he said.
Both, the US military - which has paid the guards about $300 (Dh1,103) a month - and Sunni tribal leaders say Al Qaida's most fertile recruiting grounds are among Iraq's many jobless men.
"When you take [a man's] weapon and do not give him a job, then he will become a target. In this case, no one can anticipate what this man's reaction will be," Mohammad said.
Integration a test
A senior government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Awakening integration would be a test of whether the government could create inclusive institutions or would remain hostage to sectarian interests.
But he also expressed distaste for some members of the predominantly Sunni Arab Awakening movement, an aversion shared by some other officials.
"There is no doubt Sahwas have had a lot to do with the security gains in Iraq but some of these guys are unsavoury characters. I would not invite them to my home for dinner. But I have to talk to my enemies," he said.
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