July was Iraq’s deadliest month in 5 years The Iraqi government will press ahead with military operations to eliminate militants and their infrastructure, an official announced on Saturday. The statement comes amid claims from the Sunni community in Iraq that the counter-terrorism operation is merely a pretext for authorities to force Sunnis out of Baghdad.
Ali al-Moussawi, Media Adviser to the Iraqi Prime Minister, told Arab Today that Iraq would not achieve security unless security forces clamped down those who tamper with the country’s stability.
Iraq has witnessed an increase in violence in recent months, with more than 3480 killed since the start of 2013, according to AFP figures.
Some analysts attribute the rise in attacks to anger among the Sunni community over perceived mistreatment by the Shiite-led authorities.
Security forces launched far-reaching operations across Iraq after attacks on two prisons in July, claimed by an al-Qaeda front group.
Iraq’s President Nouri al-Maliki claims more than 800 have been arrested and dozens killed since the crackdown, and interior ministry spokesman Brigadier General Saad Maan said on Saturday that security forces had killed a top Al-Qaeda militant in Tikrit and detained two of his aides.
Speaking on Saturday, media officer Moussawi said authorities had received intelligence about the existence of camps around Baghdad being used to train militants and manufacture car bombs.
Security forces had attacked these camps and imprisoned a large number of people involved in recent bombings in a number of Iraqi cities, he said, adding that dozens of the detainees had admitted their involvement in terrorist activities.
The Iraqi official said national forces would continue their counter-terrorist drive in order to allow the government to focus on other matters, including services and investment, to help the country develop.
Moussawi described as “truly surprising” comments from several politicians who blame the security leadership for the current deterioration in security and are calling on the government to resign, saying that these same MPs protested against the government initiative to step up its counter-terrorism campaign.
He denied the claim that the authorities were involved in the ‘sectarian cleansing’ of Sunnis, saying that the government confront militants regardless of their religious affiliation.
But Iraqi Sunni leader Sheikh Ahmed al-Delaimi said that there was clear evidence proving that Sunnis were being arbitrarily imprisoned and evicted from Baghdad, laying the blame at the feet of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and his “sectarian militias”.
The Sheikh called on the international community to suspend its support for the Iraqi government and militias that kill and displace the Sunni people, saying they were committing “massacres” aimed at achieving complete control over the Iraqi capital.
The Sunni leader accused the US of giving the green light to the Iraqi government to punish the Sunni community due to their role in resisting the US occupation following the coalition invasion of 2003. Sunnis would confront attempts to marginalise them and undermine their rights as partners in the country, he said.
Sheikh Delaimi proposed a designated Sunni territory, to be represented in the Iraqi parliament, saying this was the only way to protect the lives of the Sunni community.
If the current state of affairs continues it will only increase tensions between Sunnis and Shiites and could threaten peaceful coexistence in Iraq, he warned.
Additional reporting: AFP