A top Sunni Muslim cleric publicly accused the militia of the main Shi'ite political party on Wednesday of assassinating Sunni preachers, in the latest sign of sectarian tensions that have raised fears of civil war.
| "Dey can't do dat! Dat's our beat!" |
"The parties that are behind the campaign of killings of preachers of mosques and worshippers are ... the Badr Brigades," Harith al-Dhari, head of the influential Sunni Muslim Clerics Association, told a news conference.
| That'd be the Association of Muslim Scholars, of course... |
"Badr forces are responsible for the escalating tensions," he said. The Muslim Clerics Association called for a three-day closure of Sunni mosques to protest at what it said were the killings by the Badr Brigades.
| Good idea. Matter of fact, why don'tcha just go outta business to protest how cruelly you're being treated? |
It was the first time Dhari has publicly accused the militant wing of the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), which won January's elections in a Shi'ite coalition.
| I love it when they point fingers and name names. |
A senior Badr official, Hadi al-Amiri, denied the accusations.
"I consider these comments from Dhari to be irresponsible and only serve to pour fuel on the flames. It does not benefit the stability of Iraq's security in any way," he said. "We Iraqis, Sunnis and Shi'ite, should all stand against terrorism and against anyone who wants to draw us into a sectarian battle." Dhari's comments come at a time when raging suicide bombings and shootings have raised concerns that violence could erupt into civil war. The Badr Brigades spent many years in exile in Iran during Saddam Hussein's iron-fisted rule. Many Sunnis resent them because of their connections with Iran, which fought an eight- year war with Iraq in the 1980s. They returned to Iraq after Saddam was toppled in 2003 and changed their name to the Badr Organization. They call themselves a political group but many Iraqis believe they are still a militia.
| Being brighter than the average turban, they caught on quick to the fact that we weren't going to allow rule by bands of fascisti. |
Police have recently found bodies dumped in various locations, including rubbish tips, of victims who were shot dead execution-style. Fifty bodies were found since Saturday alone. Most of the victims were Shi'ites but some were Sunnis. Hassan Nuaimi, a senior member of the Muslim Clerics Association, was found dead in Baghdad on Tuesday, a day after the group accused the Shi'ite-led government of state terrorism and turning a blind eye to the killings of Sunnis. Hundreds of angry Sunnis attended Nuaimi's funeral on Wednesday and condemned the Iraqi government. "The interior minister is the biggest terrorist," read one banner, referring to the Shi'ite official.
| Wait until they set up their own RAB. The Association of Muslim Scholars has been running the war against the Shiites and the Shiites know it. For awhile they politely pretended something else was the case. It looks like they've now reached the point where they're hitting back. But rather than conducting a civil war, which has been the Scholars' intention, they're going after the head cheeses retail. Like I say, smarter than the average turban... |
Escalating bloodshed and anger are set against dramatic changes in Iraq's power structure. Shi'ites and Kurds became the dominant groups after the elections and minority Sunnis, once privileged under Saddam, have been sidelined. Shi'ite and Kurdish leaders have promised to give Sunnis a bigger role in government in a bid to defuse the Sunni-centered insurgency. But security forces can barely protect themselves -- thousands have been killed in bombings -- so containing the violence that is spreading sectarian strife will be difficult. Dhari said Sunnis will not keep silent over the killings. "We are heading toward a catastrophe, only God knows when it will end, this is a warning from us," he said. But he played down sectarian troubles and blamed political parties and the U.S.-backed government for the violence.
| "Certainly it's not us! No, no! Certainly not!" |
Guerrillas shot two Shi'ite clerics in the capital on Tuesday. SCIRI member Mani Hassan was gunned down in front of his house and Muwaffaq Mansour's car was ambushed. Dhari appealed to Iran to help stop the killing. Tehran has said it does not interfere in Iraqi affairs.
More bodies were found on Wednesday -- of seven Iraqi Turkmen captured in an ambush near Falluja, shot in the head and with their hands bound, police said. In Baghdad, gunmen shot dead an Interior Ministry official as he left home, police said, and al Qaeda's wing in Iraq claimed responsibility in an Internet statement. |