Iraq PM vows to arm Sunni tribesmen to retake Ramadi
Pledge meets immediate resistance from Shiite rivals within the government
BAGHDAD— As it moves to reverse the stunning loss of Ramadi, the capital of Iraq’s largest Sunni province, the Shiite-led government is hamstrung by the sectarian politics it has failed to overcome since the Islamic State group began its rampage more than a year ago.
Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi vowed Tuesday to arm Sunni tribesmen to help retake Ramadi. That’s a plan the United States has encouraged to better empower the tribesmen in the fight to defend their cities and to reduce their support for the Sunni extremists.
But the pledge met immediate skepticism from Sunnis, given that similar promises after Islamic State militants seized the northern city of Mosul last summer were barely implemented. It also met quick resistance from Shiite rivals within al-Abadi’s own government, who oppose arming Sunnis.
Also during this time, the government is rallying Iranian-backed Shiite militiamen to join the offensive, raising the prospect of dangerous frictions in a country that was nearly torn to pieces by bloody Shiite-Sunni violence from 2006 to 2007.
Though Shiite militiamen have been crucial to reversing other losses created by Islamic State militants, they have also been accused of abuses against Sunni residents of those areas. Some 3,000 Shiite militiamen have deployed near Ramadi, most in the Habbaniya military base and the town of Khaldiya, east of the city. Others have been deployed on routes from Anbar province toward southern Iraq to prevent any Islamic State attempt to advance on Shiite holy sites there.
The capture of Ramadi was a major blow to the U.S.-backed strategy against the Islamic State.
Over the past months, the combination of regular troops, Shiite militias and Kurdish fighters backed by U.S.-led airstrikes have managed to seize back territory across northern and western Iraq.
But on Sunday, the security forces and Sunni militiamen who had been battling the extremists in Ramadi for months collapsed as Islamic State fighters overran the city. The militants gained not only new territory 115 kilometres west of Baghdad, but also large stocks of weapons abandoned by government forces. The city’s fall is a major test for Shiite prime minister al-Abadi, who came to power eight months ago promising to better embrace Iraq’s Sunni minority to reduce support in the community for the Islamic State.
When al-Abadi came to office, he promised to create new Sunni forces. While the government has put some together, progress has been slow.
“Time is running out and the government should be serious this time,” warned Sunni lawmaker Mohammed al-Misari, lamenting what he called al-Abadi’s “procrastination” in arming Sunni tribesmen to fight the Islamic State group in Anbar, where the extremists control 60 per cent of the vast desert province.
“We all know that the Baghdad government has no trust in the Sunni tribes in Anbar, but I think this mistrust will only lead to more gains for Daesh,” he said, using an Arabic acronym for the Islamic State.