.Dramatic turnround in Iraq’s Anbar province
If it were not for the concrete blast walls, the market would resemble countless others in the Middle East, with men in tribal robes, women in black abayas and youths in jeans and T-shirts.
But this is the heart of Ramadi, the capital of Iraq’s Anbar province, once the epicentre of the Sunni insurgency and a stronghold of al-Qaeda militants. Violence in Anbar was once so persistent the area was considered by some a lost cause. The fact that Ramadi market is now bustling demonstrates one of the most dramatic turnrounds in the seven years since the US-led invasion of Iraq.
The tide in Anbar began to turn after tribal leaders formed the Awakening movement, a force comprised largely of former Sunni insurgents who decided in late 2006 to align themselves with the US and turn against al-Qaeda.
Today most of the Awakening’s tens of thousands of fighters have been integrated into Iraq’s security forces. They wear army or police uniforms and draw their pay from the Baghdad government. The movement’s leaders, meanwhile, play politics as they prepare to contest the general election on Sunday.
Ahmad Abu Risha, a leader of the Awakening, says: “Our strength is our deeds – the security we fought for. The [political] change is in the hands of the citizens now.”
That he and other candidates from Sunni-dominated Anbar are standing in this election is another sign of change. In the last contest, in 2005, Sunni largely boycotted the poll and turnout in Anbar was a derisory 2 per cent. This excluded them from the political process and exacerbated the nation’s divisions.
In theory this election could help repair the damage by improving relations between Sunni Anbar and the Shia-dominated government in Baghdad. In Ramadi market the mood is mixed, with some people pledging enthusiastically to vote while others say they will abstain as they complain of empty promises, corruption and violence.
Anbar is Iraq’s largest province, stretching from the western approaches of Baghdad to the borders with Syria, Saudi Arabia and Jordan. The area is emblematic of the difficulties faced by any government in a nation plagued by violence, weak state institutions and deep sectarian mistrust between its people.
Indeed, seven people died in two separate suicide bomb attacks in Baghdad on Thursday, and seven more were killed when a mortar round struck a crowded market. Although al-Qaeda is a weakened force in Iraq, suicide attacks, assassinations and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) ensure that Anbar remains one of the most volatile parts of the country.
Lieutenant Colonel Trevor Bredenkamp, US commander of a base on the edge of Ramadi, describes al-Qaeda as a “disjointed organisation” but points to the threat from violent disputes between rival tribes. “There’s certainly an element of al-Qaeda in Iraq, [but] there’s also tribal rivalries . . . their way of dealing with it is to strap a magnetic IED to a car,” he says. Most IED explosions are probably related to tribal violence, he adds.
Alliances in Anbar shift constantly and the provincial police force is dependent on former tribal fighters whose loyalty to the government is questionable.
Abdul Jabar Fedhawi, a tribal leader who claims several thousand followers, says: “Now they belong to the law, but I started these police stations and if I ask them to do something they will do it.”
Lt-Col Khalil al-Fehdawi, a veteran of the battle against al-Qaeda, has become so frustrated with tribal leaders interfering in police business that he has offered to resign.
“The police station belongs to the tribe. That is the danger, because if two policemen have a problem you could have a tribal war,” he says. “A man becomes a provincial council member and feels he is king – feels everybody has to answer to him, including the police.”
In a province that put up the fiercest resistance to US troops, Lt-Col Fehdawi and many others are now worried about the impending departure of American forces.
Many are concerned that Iraq’s own institutions are simply too weak to stand on their own. There is also a perception among the Sunni community that neighbouring Iran is controlling their country through the Shia Islamist parties that dominate the Baghdad government.
In Ramadi, the point is not lost on Subhi al-Rawi. “You broke down this country and now you leave?” he says.
“We are not occupied by America – we are occupied by Iran.”
FT
But this is the heart of Ramadi, the capital of Iraq’s Anbar province, once the epicentre of the Sunni insurgency and a stronghold of al-Qaeda militants. Violence in Anbar was once so persistent the area was considered by some a lost cause. The fact that Ramadi market is now bustling demonstrates one of the most dramatic turnrounds in the seven years since the US-led invasion of Iraq.
The tide in Anbar began to turn after tribal leaders formed the Awakening movement, a force comprised largely of former Sunni insurgents who decided in late 2006 to align themselves with the US and turn against al-Qaeda.
Today most of the Awakening’s tens of thousands of fighters have been integrated into Iraq’s security forces. They wear army or police uniforms and draw their pay from the Baghdad government. The movement’s leaders, meanwhile, play politics as they prepare to contest the general election on Sunday.
Ahmad Abu Risha, a leader of the Awakening, says: “Our strength is our deeds – the security we fought for. The [political] change is in the hands of the citizens now.”
That he and other candidates from Sunni-dominated Anbar are standing in this election is another sign of change. In the last contest, in 2005, Sunni largely boycotted the poll and turnout in Anbar was a derisory 2 per cent. This excluded them from the political process and exacerbated the nation’s divisions.
In theory this election could help repair the damage by improving relations between Sunni Anbar and the Shia-dominated government in Baghdad. In Ramadi market the mood is mixed, with some people pledging enthusiastically to vote while others say they will abstain as they complain of empty promises, corruption and violence.
Anbar is Iraq’s largest province, stretching from the western approaches of Baghdad to the borders with Syria, Saudi Arabia and Jordan. The area is emblematic of the difficulties faced by any government in a nation plagued by violence, weak state institutions and deep sectarian mistrust between its people.
Indeed, seven people died in two separate suicide bomb attacks in Baghdad on Thursday, and seven more were killed when a mortar round struck a crowded market. Although al-Qaeda is a weakened force in Iraq, suicide attacks, assassinations and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) ensure that Anbar remains one of the most volatile parts of the country.
Lieutenant Colonel Trevor Bredenkamp, US commander of a base on the edge of Ramadi, describes al-Qaeda as a “disjointed organisation” but points to the threat from violent disputes between rival tribes. “There’s certainly an element of al-Qaeda in Iraq, [but] there’s also tribal rivalries . . . their way of dealing with it is to strap a magnetic IED to a car,” he says. Most IED explosions are probably related to tribal violence, he adds.
Alliances in Anbar shift constantly and the provincial police force is dependent on former tribal fighters whose loyalty to the government is questionable.
Abdul Jabar Fedhawi, a tribal leader who claims several thousand followers, says: “Now they belong to the law, but I started these police stations and if I ask them to do something they will do it.”
Lt-Col Khalil al-Fehdawi, a veteran of the battle against al-Qaeda, has become so frustrated with tribal leaders interfering in police business that he has offered to resign.
“The police station belongs to the tribe. That is the danger, because if two policemen have a problem you could have a tribal war,” he says. “A man becomes a provincial council member and feels he is king – feels everybody has to answer to him, including the police.”
In a province that put up the fiercest resistance to US troops, Lt-Col Fehdawi and many others are now worried about the impending departure of American forces.
Many are concerned that Iraq’s own institutions are simply too weak to stand on their own. There is also a perception among the Sunni community that neighbouring Iran is controlling their country through the Shia Islamist parties that dominate the Baghdad government.
In Ramadi, the point is not lost on Subhi al-Rawi. “You broke down this country and now you leave?” he says.
“We are not occupied by America – we are occupied by Iran.”
FT
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