Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
By MARIAM FAM - Associated Press Writer
BAGHDAD, Iraq - (AP) The sun had barely risen over a small Sunni
village when Shiite militiamen, some wearing black, launched a raid,
ostensibly to free hostages. Interior Ministry troops joined the fight.
After several hours, more than 20 people were dead.
Details about what happened Oct. 27 in Medayna, 45 miles northeast
of Baghdad, vary depending on whom you ask. But the violence underscores a
disturbing and dangerous trend in Iraq: the growing role and power of
militias and their contribution to rising sectarian tensions.
Sunni insurgents openly target Shiites. In response, many Sunnis
maintain their community has come under threat from militias with links to
Shiite political parties.
The violence erupted when militiamen from the Mahdi Army, loyal to
radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, raided the village to free hostages who they
say were kidnapped by Sunni Arabs there. Medayna residents insist the attack
was unprovoked.
Kanaan Mesarhad, a tribal sheik who lives in Medayna, claimed
militiamen snatched his 59-year-old uncle from his home, blindfolded him,
beat him on the head with a sword and shot him between the eyes.
"They executed him in front of his own children," Mesarhad said.
"Then they burned the homes." And he said militiamen shouted sectarian slurs
at Sunnis.
Medayna residents said armed militiamen descended on the village
when most people were asleep and randomly opened fire, set farms and houses
ablaze and shot at power generators and water tankers.
After the initial raid, villagers said, the militiamen withdrew but
returned with members of special Interior Ministry forces, and together they
launched another attack.
By the end of the fight, more than 30 people from the village had
been seized. Most have been released.
Hussein Elwan Khalaf, 66, said three of his children were feeding
chickens on their farm, when troops and militiamen dragged them to an area
100 yards away and shot them dead as he watched.
"Two militiamen held me back and said they would kill me if I
moved," he said. "There was nothing I could do. But it was an officer that
shot them."
He said two of his nephews were also shot to death and a neighbor
beheaded.
Medayna residents say the animosity goes back to killings, thefts
and kidnappings that happen on a highway linking the town of Nahrawan, home
to many of Mahdi Army militiamen, and Diyala province, where Medayna is
located. Residents say the militia holds them responsible.
Abbas al-Rubaie, an aide to al-Sadr, said villagers were harboring
terrorists who kidnap people for money and that the militiamen intervened at
the request of local authorities.
"The police forces couldn't reach the area because they're weak, and
word came out that some hostages are held in this village," he said. "It's a
religious duty to save someone's life."
He said Mahdi militiamen met resistance from militants in the
village, whom he accused of rigging explosives on roads leading to the area.
He said 19 militiamen and two to five policemen were killed.
He denied that the attack was sectarian motivated or that militiamen
killed people in Medayna without provocation.
Deputy Interior Minister Maj. Gen. Ali Ghalib also said insurgents
were hiding in the Medayna area and that they ambushed the security forces.
He denied that ministry forces violated any laws.
Diyala provincial Gov. Raad al-Timimi, a Shiite, said Medayna was "a
trouble spot" because it houses "elements that carry out acts of violence,"
including carjackings and thefts.
"Diyala is a vast province and there are areas of it that are out of
the government's control," he said. "Plus the police force we have in Diyala
is very small."
Al-Timimi said the there were 5,000 policemen in the province, less
than half of the number needed. He said he asked for more forces from the
Interior Ministry but received only promises.
Diyala's deputy governor, Ouf Rahoumi _ a Sunni and member of the
Iraqi Islamic Party _ said the police force suffers from low morale.
"They're burned out and psychologically exhausted. Many of them have been
killed or injured. They need reinforcements," he said.
But Rahoumi said local authorities were surprised to see about 200
Mahdi militiamen attacking Medayna and that they never requested their help.
"They burned homes and killed people, so the residents responded to defend
themselves," he said.
He also claimed the Mahdi Army is backed by government elements, and
that because the army and police are mostly Shiites they suppress Sunnis.
"This is the beginning of a sectarian war," Rahoumi said. "The
situation reached that level because the central government in Baghdad is
turning a blind eye to the militias."
Ghalib argued the makeup of the security forces mirrors that of Iraq
and includes all groups. Shiites form about 60 percent of Iraq's 27 million
people.
"We, in the Interior Ministry, are vehemently against any militia
carrying out security duties," Ghalib said.
But such assurances ring hollow for villagers like Mesarhad.
"The militias are now stronger than the police," he said. "If there
were a government this wouldn't have happened. It's like a war of gangs now.
The talk of having a government and a parliament is sheer propaganda, for TV
only."
BAGHDAD, Iraq - (AP) The sun had barely risen over a small Sunni
village when Shiite militiamen, some wearing black, launched a raid,
ostensibly to free hostages. Interior Ministry troops joined the fight.
After several hours, more than 20 people were dead.
Details about what happened Oct. 27 in Medayna, 45 miles northeast
of Baghdad, vary depending on whom you ask. But the violence underscores a
disturbing and dangerous trend in Iraq: the growing role and power of
militias and their contribution to rising sectarian tensions.
Sunni insurgents openly target Shiites. In response, many Sunnis
maintain their community has come under threat from militias with links to
Shiite political parties.
The violence erupted when militiamen from the Mahdi Army, loyal to
radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, raided the village to free hostages who they
say were kidnapped by Sunni Arabs there. Medayna residents insist the attack
was unprovoked.
Kanaan Mesarhad, a tribal sheik who lives in Medayna, claimed
militiamen snatched his 59-year-old uncle from his home, blindfolded him,
beat him on the head with a sword and shot him between the eyes.
"They executed him in front of his own children," Mesarhad said.
"Then they burned the homes." And he said militiamen shouted sectarian slurs
at Sunnis.
Medayna residents said armed militiamen descended on the village
when most people were asleep and randomly opened fire, set farms and houses
ablaze and shot at power generators and water tankers.
After the initial raid, villagers said, the militiamen withdrew but
returned with members of special Interior Ministry forces, and together they
launched another attack.
By the end of the fight, more than 30 people from the village had
been seized. Most have been released.
Hussein Elwan Khalaf, 66, said three of his children were feeding
chickens on their farm, when troops and militiamen dragged them to an area
100 yards away and shot them dead as he watched.
"Two militiamen held me back and said they would kill me if I
moved," he said. "There was nothing I could do. But it was an officer that
shot them."
He said two of his nephews were also shot to death and a neighbor
beheaded.
Medayna residents say the animosity goes back to killings, thefts
and kidnappings that happen on a highway linking the town of Nahrawan, home
to many of Mahdi Army militiamen, and Diyala province, where Medayna is
located. Residents say the militia holds them responsible.
Abbas al-Rubaie, an aide to al-Sadr, said villagers were harboring
terrorists who kidnap people for money and that the militiamen intervened at
the request of local authorities.
"The police forces couldn't reach the area because they're weak, and
word came out that some hostages are held in this village," he said. "It's a
religious duty to save someone's life."
He said Mahdi militiamen met resistance from militants in the
village, whom he accused of rigging explosives on roads leading to the area.
He said 19 militiamen and two to five policemen were killed.
He denied that the attack was sectarian motivated or that militiamen
killed people in Medayna without provocation.
Deputy Interior Minister Maj. Gen. Ali Ghalib also said insurgents
were hiding in the Medayna area and that they ambushed the security forces.
He denied that ministry forces violated any laws.
Diyala provincial Gov. Raad al-Timimi, a Shiite, said Medayna was "a
trouble spot" because it houses "elements that carry out acts of violence,"
including carjackings and thefts.
"Diyala is a vast province and there are areas of it that are out of
the government's control," he said. "Plus the police force we have in Diyala
is very small."
Al-Timimi said the there were 5,000 policemen in the province, less
than half of the number needed. He said he asked for more forces from the
Interior Ministry but received only promises.
Diyala's deputy governor, Ouf Rahoumi _ a Sunni and member of the
Iraqi Islamic Party _ said the police force suffers from low morale.
"They're burned out and psychologically exhausted. Many of them have been
killed or injured. They need reinforcements," he said.
But Rahoumi said local authorities were surprised to see about 200
Mahdi militiamen attacking Medayna and that they never requested their help.
"They burned homes and killed people, so the residents responded to defend
themselves," he said.
He also claimed the Mahdi Army is backed by government elements, and
that because the army and police are mostly Shiites they suppress Sunnis.
"This is the beginning of a sectarian war," Rahoumi said. "The
situation reached that level because the central government in Baghdad is
turning a blind eye to the militias."
Ghalib argued the makeup of the security forces mirrors that of Iraq
and includes all groups. Shiites form about 60 percent of Iraq's 27 million
people.
"We, in the Interior Ministry, are vehemently against any militia
carrying out security duties," Ghalib said.
But such assurances ring hollow for villagers like Mesarhad.
"The militias are now stronger than the police," he said. "If there
were a government this wouldn't have happened. It's like a war of gangs now.
The talk of having a government and a parliament is sheer propaganda, for TV
only."