Palestinians living in Iraq have been warned that they will be killed by Shiite militias unless they leave the country immediately. Iraqi police say the immigrants, who are mostly Sunnis, are the target of a backlash by hardline Shiites, including members of the Mehdi Army led by the cleric Moqtada Al Sadr.More than 600 Palestinians are believed to have died at the hands of Shiite militias since the war began in 2003, including at least 300 from the Baladiat area of Baghdad. Many were tortured with electric drills before they died.
Now Shiite militias are stepping up their campaign to drive out Iraq's 20,000 remaining Palestinians -half the estimated 40,000 living in the country at the start of the war, all of whom were welcomed by Saddam Hussain and provided with housing, money and free education. Hundreds of Iraqis were forced to leave their homes to make way for the migrants, many of whom joined the ruling Baath party.
Shaikh Mahmoud Al Hassani, a spokesman for the Mehdi Army, said the Palestinians had brought their suffering on themselves. He said Shiites believed they were in league with Sunni extremists and Al Qaida. "We are sure that all the Palestinians in Iraq are involved in killing the Shiite people and they have to pay the price now," he said. "They lived off our blood under Saddam. We were hungry with no food and they were comfortable with full bellies. They should leave now, or they will have to pay."
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Kareem Zakia, 61, said his son, Yeha Ahmad, was kidnapped and killed in the Karada area of Baghdad two weeks ago. "The kidnappers called me and told me that they had taken my son because he came from Palestine and all the Palestinians support the Sunni terrorists. I found my son's body the next day with many holes in his belly made by a drill."He ordered his two other sons to leave with his wife and two daughters, but neighbouring Jordan refused to allow them to cross the border - as it has with many Palestinians trying to flee Iraq.
Ahmad Mahmoud, 26, a Palestinian in Baladiat, said he had paid a ransom of nearly £3,000 (Dh21,740) to free his brother, Murad Mahmoud, 38. The kidnappers in Sadr City told him where to collect his brother, but he arrived to find he had been killed. "We found him dead with signs of torture on his body," Ahmad said. "They called us the next day and said, 'We killed your brother because all the Palestinians in Iraq love Saddam Hussain and this is what will happen to you and all your families'."
Captain Sary Farhan, a police spokesman, said people had been arrested for the killings but later released. "All these criminals belong to Shiite militias and were released a few days after. They have strong backing in the government," he said. Police report Iranian weapons have been taken from arrested militia members.
The Iraqi interior ministry says 7,700 police officers have been sacked for suspected membership of death squads. Of those, 665 are in jail awaiting trial.
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