Standoff in an Iraqi province
A potential security crisis loomed Saturday in troubled Diyala province as significant numbers of a U.S.-funded force of Sunni fighters left their posts, demanding the ouster of the provincial police chief.
“You can imagine what danger will face the region in the next days,” said Abu Talib, commander of 2,000 to 3,000 so-called Sons of Iraq fighters. His men, many of them former insurgents, turned against the militant group Al Qaeda in Iraq last year under the Awakening banner.
A street commander, Khalid Khalidi, said nearly half of the checkpoint guards and patrolmen had walked off the job, and Abu Talib said they might pull out in even larger numbers if the provincial police chief, Maj. Gen. Ghanim Quraishi, is not ousted. Abu Talib and his men, who are paid by the U.S. military, accuse the Shiite Muslim police chief of brutality against Sunnis.
Their rage boiled over, they said, after the rape, kidnapping and slaying of two Sunni women two weeks ago, allegedly by men wearing police uniforms. Aides to the police chief said he was unavailable for comment.
For much of the last year, Diyala has been the deadliest region for U.S. forces battling militants who have found refuge in its urban areas and isolated villages. The province is a strategic crossroads, providing access to Baghdad, Iran and insurgent strongholds in northern Iraq.
The first Sunni fighters to turn against Al Qaeda in Iraq were in Anbar province, to the west, and the U.S. military successfully cultivated more forces throughout the country. They have since earned significant credit from the military for the downturn in violence.
U.S. military officials have acknowledged that they do not have the troop strength to improve security in the province without the Sons of Iraq, the new name for the groups that were called concerned local citizens or Awakening Councils. They said they were hoping for a speedy resolution.
“We are concerned about this issue. Without the attention of the provincial government, it does have the potential to become a crisis,” Army Maj. Mike Garcia said. “We will emphasize that we have been pleased with the hard work of both the SOIs and the provincial government and director of police.”
Garcia disputed accounts from Sons of Iraq commanders and some witnesses that forces were already leaving their posts in droves. “Some may have,” he said, but “there is still a very visible SOI presence throughout Baqubah,” the provincial capital
Meanwhile, in Baghdad, there was hope that the Sunni Arab political bloc soon might return to the government.
The bloc’s six ministers resigned from Prime Minister Nouri Maliki’s Cabinet in August demanding greater political and military clout.
Hassan Suneid, a Shiite lawmaker who has participated in the negotiations, said, “Most of the conflicts have been resolved. . . . It’s only a matter of time before [they] return to the government, probably in less than two weeks.”
Salim Abdullah, a spokesman for the Sunni bloc, said significant progress was still needed.
“There is no deadline for our return, but we expect within these two weeks, there will be a clear decision,” he said.
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A special correspondent in Baghdad contributed to this report.
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