Disbanding the militias is the only way to put an end to the sectarian killings, writes Omayma Abdel-Latif The war of the militias is threatening to push Iraq into all- out civil war. As the country was bracing itself for yet another wave of sectarian violence, this week witnessed some of the worst atrocities. While the national reconciliation plan appears in tatters, militias were spreading death and mayhem all across Iraq. As mosques and husayniyats (Shia religious centres) came under attack, Iraqi bloodletting continued. Iraqi Premier Nuri Al-Maliki's government has failed miserably to contain the violence and put into effect the much-hyped plan for securing Baghdad. This week's events, agree many Iraqi analysts, have proved once again that Iraq is not ruled by Al-Maliki's government but rather by a shadow government that is a mixture of militias and United States occupation forces, whose rule has paved the way for civil war in Iraq. Contrary to the beliefs of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that Iraq's new leaders "can prevail over the determined killers", many Iraqis accuse that same Iraqi government to be complacent in its response to the atrocities. The Sunni forces in the Iraqi parliament have long called for the Interior Ministry to purge itself of militia elements that have infiltrated the ministry and are said to be responsible for the systematic sectarian killings that claim the lives of thousands of innocent Iraqis, both Sunni and Shia. Such calls, however, seem to have been ignored by Al-Maliki's government. "Now the US troops can withdraw from Iraq. Its presence is needed no more. For it did all it possibly can to unleash a long civil war in Iraq and it is finally happening," wrote Abdul-Wahab Badrakhan, a senior Arab commentator of Al-Hayat newspaper. Like most Iraqi commentators, Badrakhan believes that the militias reign supreme and that they have overruled all other organs of government. "The militias have a free hand in the killing and put many districts in Baghdad under its control, while the government has done nothing to curb their influence," Badrakhan told the Weekly. What complicates the situation even further, he added, was the fact that the Iraqi resistance does not recognise those Sunni forces that participate in the government representatives of Iraqi Sunnis. One Iraqi analyst suggested that the only exit strategy for the Iraqi government was to clamp down hard on the militias, at least to defend its name and fend off accusations that it is ambivalent to the sectarian killings and that there are those in its midst who support such atrocities. "The other important exit strategy," explained Majid Al-Samaraai, a London-based Iraqi analyst, "is to achieve a breakthrough with the Iraqi resistance that should be followed by a truce. Or else, if things continue as they are it will be perceived as though government parties represented in the militias is culprit in the killings," he said. The Al-Jihad massacre was the latest atrocity in the sectarian violence that was unleashed after the bombing of the Samaraa shrine last February. Ever since the bombing took place, both Sunni and Shia shrines have been targets of violence. Last week, an attack near the shrine of Maitham Al-Tamar in Kufa city left 12 people killed and 40 others wounded. On Friday, eight people died in attacks on Sunni worshippers in Baghdad and Baquba, following Friday prayers. A car bombing struck a mosque in Sinjar, near Mosul, targeting Iraqi Shia and injuring at least 50 people. But according to many accounts, the Al-Jihad district massacre proved the worst sectarian incident so far, since the outbreak of sectarian violence. Eye witnesses said armed men wearing civilian clothes set up fake checkpoints in the streets of Al-Jihad district. They stopped passengers and cars and asked for their IDs, then shot those who were Sunnis. Some armed men were also seen raiding houses and killing the inhabitants. The Iraqi Az-Zaman newspaper reported that hundreds of soldiers from the Iraqi army were seen roaming the area and closed down all the entrances to and from the district, while turning a blind eye to the bloodletting taking place. The identity of the killers was no secret on this occasion. Sheikh Abdul-Samad Al-Obeidy, the imam of Fakery Shanshal Mosque in Al-Jihad district, accused the Al-Mahdi militia of committing the atrocity. He also pointed the finger at the Iraqi police forces, who did not move to prevent the killings. "When I got out of the mosque after the crime, I saw the bodies of 10 men who were shot in the head and whose bodies bore signs of torture," said Al-Obeidy. He added that the killing took place in front of Husayniyat Al-Zahraa. But Sheikh Hamoud Al-Sodani, the Husayniya's imam, pointed out that the attacks were carried out by the relatives of Iraqis who have been killed over the past few months. Al-Sodani, who belongs to the Sadrist movement, added that there has been the systematic evacuation of Shia residents from Al-Jihad during the past few months and that the bombing of Husayniyat Al-Zahraa was the last straw that unleashed the wave of sectarian violence resulting in the killing of at least 41 people, all Sunnis. Sunni political groups have condemned the atrocity. The Convention of the People of Iraq, headed by Adnan Al-Dulaimi, issued a statement against "the criminal sectarian militias" that want to push the country into civil war. Al-Dulaimi said that the fact that the killings were conducted by a known militia exposed the government's utter failure to control the security situation. Abdul-Ghafour Al-Samaraai, head of the Sunni Waqf (endowment), accused the Interior Ministry forces of being complacent with the militias. The Iraqi Accord Front, the biggest Sunni bloc in the assembly, threatened to withdraw from the political process, if the targeting of Sunni areas and residents did not come to a stop. Iraqi figures demanded that the religious authorities ( marjeyiaat ) should voice their opposition to the sectarian killings and questioned their silence amid the continuing violence. While a source close to the Al-Mahdi militia denied that their forces had committed the atrocities, Muqtada Al-Sadr himself called for the utmost self-restraint; but many analysts question Al-Sadr's control over the militia. "His public rhetoric is nationalistic and he calls for Iraqi unity, but his army is party to the orgy of killings that involves other militias like the Badr Brigade. It is possible that there are rogue elements committing the killings, and that local leaders and sheikhs are taking the law into their own hands," Saad Abdul- Razzaq of the Independent Democrats bloc told the Weekly. He pointed out that while Al-Maliki was keen to address the issue of the militia during his first days in power, he has nonetheless failed to take a tough stand against them. "Dissolving all the armed militias is the only possible way to stop the violence. The streets of Baghdad are ruled by the militias, while the government and the assembly are isolated in the green zone. Iraqis are at the mercy of the militias," he added. In another development, the defence committee for former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein decided to suspend its attendance of the court sessions, due to what it described as violations that led to the assassination of one of its members. In a statement issued Monday, the lawyers vowed to continue not to attend court until their demands are met. One such demand calls for much-needed security measures for the defence lawyers, and for a serious investigation into the assassination of Khamees Al-Obeidy, a member of the defence team.
