SECTARIAN tension escalates in Iraq following an army raid against peaceful protesters. Iraqi security forces backed by helicopters raided a Sunni protest camp before dawn Tuesday, prompting clashes that killed at least 36 people in the area and significantly intensified Sunni anger against the Shia-led government. The fighting broke out in the former insurgent stronghold of Hawija, about 240 kilometres (160 miles) north of Baghdad. Like many predominantly Sunni communities, the town has seen months of rallies by protesters accusing the government of neglect and pursuing a sectarian agenda. In an apparent response to the morning raid, militants tried to storm two army posts in the nearby town of Rashad, and six of them were killed, according to the Defence Ministry. Seven other militants were killed while trying to attack military positions in another town, Riyadh, according to police and hospital officials. Politically, two Sunni ministers announced their resignation including the minister of education and minister of science and technology. “The minister of education, Mohamed Ali Tamim, resigned from his post after the Iraqi army forces broke into the area of the sit-in in Kirkuk,” an official from Deputy Prime Minister Saleh Al-Mutlak's office said. “The resignation is final, and there will be no going back,” the official added. Parliament speaker Osama Al-Nujaifi later said at a news conference that Science and Technology Minister Abdel-Karim Al-Samarraai told him by telephone that he too was quitting. Outrage also spread through other Sunni parts of the country, including the restive western Anbar province, where demonstrators took to the streets and clashed with police. Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki swiftly announced the formation of a special ministerial committee to investigate what happened in Hawija, underscoring the government's concern over the incident. Sectarian tensions have been intensifying for months, pressured by Sunni protests that began in December. As Tuesday's raid spread, calls went out through mosque loudspeakers in Fallujah, west of Baghdad, urging residents to protest in solidarity with fellow Sunnis in Hawija. About 1,000 protesters took to the streets in the western city, where anger at the government is particularly strong. Some chanted “War, war”, as security forces fanned out in the streets. In nearby Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province, protesters threw stones at a military convoy. One army Humvee was overturned and set ablaze in the clashes, according to witnesses. Iraq's Defence Ministry said 23 people were killed in the initial raid on Hawija. Among the dead were an army officer, two soldiers and 20 “militants who were using the demonstration as a safe haven”. Another nine members of the military were wounded, the ministry said in a statement. It said the militants killed were members of Al-Qaeda and Saddam Hussein's outlawed Baath Party. The raid occurred four days after a checkpoint jointly run by the police and army near Hawija came under attack, and militants seized a number of weapons before retreating into the crowd of protesters, according to the Defence Ministry. That led to a standoff with security forces, at times, trying to negotiate with local and tribal officials the handover of those involved in the raid. The Defence Ministry said it warned demonstrators to leave the protest area before moving in early Tuesday, and that large numbers of protesters left the site. As Iraqi forces tried to make arrests, they came under heavy fire from several types of weapons and were targeted by snipers, according to the Defence Ministry account. Security forces detained 75 people and seized multiple weapons, including machine guns, hand grenades, knives, daggers and swords, the ministry said. Iraq's Interior Ministry spokesman, Lieutenant Colonel Saad Ibrahim, said the security forces were backed by helicopters, but no airstrikes occurred. Protests against the Shia-dominated government began in western Iraq in December following the arrest of bodyguards assigned to Sunni Finance Minister Rafia Al-Issawi. Demonstrators are protesting alleged discrimination by the government, including the application of a tough anti-terrorism law that they believe unfairly targets their sect.
